The Qiongzhou Strait separates the south of mainland China from the island of Hainan, host this week to the last tournament of the DP World Tour’s Asian Swing. There, in the heart of the South China Sea and east of Vietnam, lies Haikou, a city that houses a colossal resort called Mission Hills, the size of Manhattan, where the Blackstone course is located. The battle for victory in the Hainan Classic will be fought on that golf course.
Sólo hay una posible combinación que dejaría a Chacarra fuera del PGA
It will be a battle against the course, one of the longest of the year, with a 625-metre par 5 (hole 13). Also, obviously, it will be a contest against each and every player participating, with the last-minute inclusion of Spaniard Sebastián García Rodríguez filling in for Nicolas Colsaerts. But above all, it will be a challenge against the weather.
Historically, the average temperature on the island of Hainan in April ranges between 10 and 16 degrees, however, these days it is above 40 with a very high humidity percentage. The reason is a spectacular heatwave that has been hitting the region with intensity for a few days. The thermal sensation is even more intense on the Blackstone course, as, as its name suggests, the course is filled with black volcanic rock. So much so that the DP World Tour is going to establish a series of measures to combat these extreme conditions. Of course, golfers will be allowed to play in shorts, there will be water on all tees, cold towels will be provided at four different points on the course, and buggies will be allowed for players and caddies between tee boxes and fairways. It only remained to determine how many and which ones.
Initially, according to the weather forecast, temperatures should ease a bit on Thursday night, as a rain front is expected to arrive. However, what initially seems like good news is only relative. The rain will give way to strong thunderstorms with electrical components on Friday. That is, everything points to the second round not being completed until Saturday, and we’ll see if the tournament doesn’t suffer any major alterations, such as a possible reduction to 54 holes. We will have to be very attentive.
As mentioned, the Mission Hills resort in Haikou is immense. It has ten golf courses, gigantic film studios where hundreds of films are made each year, an NBA academy, another of FC Barcelona, and about 50,000 people live there. However, the course maintenance is not the best. It has been closed for a month to prepare it for the tournament, and a battalion of 200 workers has been cleaning and clearing access and paths for 60 days.
Besides the length, the great defence of the course is its greens. They are small and extraordinarily undulating. At times, the slopes are almost diabolical. For this reason, they cannot be more than ten in speed on the stimpmeter, and it is not easy to find four different pin positions for the week.
The Blackstone course was the venue for the 2011 World Cup, with victory for the United States with Matt Kuchar and Gary Woodland and ninth place for Spain with Álvaro Quirós and Miguel Ángel Jiménez. Additionally, it once hosted an exhibition between Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods. McIlroy holds the course record with 67 strokes, although it was played as a par 73. This week it is a par 72 because hole 18 has been converted into a par 4.
