The Punter / Steven Rawlings / 06 November 2009 /

It's mouth-wateringly poised in Shanghai, with a leaderboard that the organisers could have only dreamt off...

I set Sky to record the golf and went to bed on Wednesday night with no intention of getting up in the night, but I woke up at about three and I just couldn't resist putting the laptop on...

There wasn't a lot happening but I'd been given a taste and I set the alarm for six and went back to bed.

When I got up again I watched the first couple of hours on fast forward and it was quite surreal watching Nick Watney making putt after putt, often from quite some distance.

At the end of play, Watney had streaked away and although he bogeyed the last, he still led by two on eight under par but things weren't looking too bad for me.

Martin Kaymer, backed at [50.0], was in a tie for 2nd on six under and Paul Casey, backed at [70.0], was just one further back in a tie for 5th.

Looking back on the four previous results here it looks imperative to be up with the pace early. Three of the four winners had been just a shot adrift after day one and Phil Mickelson had been just four back when he won two years ago. With that in mind I backed Tiger Woods at [2.60] to cover all stakes and make a small profit on the event, should he oblige.

The world number one had looked in great shape, crafting a five under par 67, and I felt the [2.60] available represented better value than the [3.15] he'd started the tournament at.

I got up early this morning hoping to see plenty of Casey and Kaymer, but they hardly figured in the coverage at all, as they slid painfully down the leaderboard. Casey shot one over par, while Kaymer didn't make a birdie all day and shot two over.

Getting up at 4.30 is never great. Getting up at 4.30 to see things go pear-shaped is far from pleasant.

It was a frustrating morning but there were bright spots. Alvaro Quiros, who I backed at [150.0] before the off, shot 66 and is in a tie for second. While Tiger Woods moved effortlessly forward, he's now tied for the lead with Nick Watney after another 67.

I've also got Brian Gay four shots off the lead on six under - which is a fair tally after a couple of very slow starts on the first couple of days and I've got five players on four under, including Casey and Kaymer, but they all look too far back now.

It really doesn't look like a catch up course at all, which makes the second rounds from Kaymer and Casey so frustrating. I can't see how anyone outside the classy looking top six at this stage can win now, and it looks as though I'm relying on my ole mate Quiros and Tiger Woods.

It may not be a leaderboard I wanted but it's one the organiser's would have dreamt off. Tiger's birdie at the last got him into the final group alongside Watney and Ryan Moore, but the glamour group looks to be the penultimate three-ball of Quiros, Lefty and Anthony Kim.

With seven Americans in the top nine, you have to wonder whether the likes of Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker, Zach Johnson and Kenny Perry are ruing their decisions not to bother turning up. Whether they do or not, the event has gone up another couple of notches in credibility again this year and it's justifying its elevated World Golf Championship status.

It's mouth-wateringly set up for a cracking weekend and there's no doubt I'll be setting the alarm for tomorrow morning...Get the coffee on and come on Alvaro!

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