SHANGHAI — By conventional logic, Kevin Kisner and Russell Knox should not be playing well this week at the WGC-HSBC Champions.
American Kisner nearly withdrew from the event after hurting his back last Sunday at the CIMB Classic. He played a shot on the 16th hole and felt something lock up. Since then, the trip from Malaysia to Shanghai has been arduous and he has spent more time with the physio then doing anything else.
It’s Kisner’s debut in the tournament and he did not play any practice round, that led to times during Thursday’s opening round where he had to ask his playing partners for directions to the next tee.
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Scotsman Knox was not even in the field for the tournament, but when three players pulled out in the past one week he got in as the third alternate last Friday. At that time, he too was playing the PGA Tour event in Malaysia, and he obviously did not have a Chinese visa. It was his wife who made a mad dash to the Kuala Lumpur embassy and secured it in the nick of time.
Knox made it to Shanghai on Tuesday, but his caddie could not. He played a very quick practice round with his wife on the bag, and that was the extent of his preparation for what is his first-ever WGC event.
But then golf, as the wits never tire of reiterating, can be a very funny sport.
At the halfway stage of the WGC-HSBC Champions, Kisner (66) was still holding his painful back, but more importantly, he was also holding on to the top position on the leaderboard at 14-under par without a bogey so far, while Knox (65) was second at 12-under par with just one bogey in 36 holes.
The conditions were decidedly tougher than the opening round and wind picked up early in the day. Some of the big names in the field struggled, but it turned out to be a truly international leaderboard in the end, with South African Branden Grace (71) in third place at 10-under par 134, and China’s Li Hao-Tong (69) flying the home flag tied at fourth place on nine-under par 135 along with American Patrick Reed.
A quick example of why Kevin Kisner is leading… #QuickHits https://t.co/hTM4hoqFa7
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 6, 2015
Kisner, ranked 34th in the world, is coming off a brilliant, yet frustrating, season. He has made it to three play-offs, including the Players Championship, but did not manage to win a single one of them.
That could soon end for the 31-year-old American, who made four birdies in the front nine yesterday and added two more on the back after yet another wonderful exhibition of short game. Like he did on Thursday, he made at least three par saves from the 15-20 feet range, and also chipped in for a birdie.
Kisner felt the backache played a big role in him playing so well, and also the fact that he did not play any practice round.
“It probably lowers your expectations and you play better. So probably something to learn from that,” said Kisner after the round.
“It’s been beyond my expectations. To be honest, I had no expectations coming in. So it's been good. I made a couple long putts for par today to keep the no-bogey streak going, but I’m sure I’ll run into some problems sooner or later. I just hope I can keep holing those putts for par and keep the pedal down.
“Yesterday was my first round, but sometimes it’s good when you go and play a course without knowing much about it. Don’t know where all the bad stuff is.”
Knox, ranked 85th in the world, plays most of his golf on the PGA Tour and is also searching for his first win there despite coming close a couple of times last season when he finished second in the Honda Classic and third in the Shriners Hospitals for Children’s Open.
The Scot said he was struggling to make the cuts in the first two events of the new season on the PGA Tour, and was just happy to play in Malaysia and now in Shanghai, two tournaments where there is no halfway cuts.
“It was nice to head to Malaysia knowing there was no cut. Because, I missed the cut in Fry’s by a shot. I missed a seven-footer on the last to make the cut and then I was very lucky in Vegas to make the cut. I hit a 4-iron from 224 to six feet to make the putt to make the cut on the number there,” said Knox, who made four birdies on his front nine and three on the back nine despite the strong wind.
“So, I was happy I played well on Sunday which gave me a little momentum. Then coming to Malaysia I don’t have to deal with the pressure of making the cut and then getting in here was obviously a bonus.”
