Generally speaking, the performance of Hong Kong players was disappointing. Six local golfers started the event but only one – Timothy Tang – survived the halfway cut.
James Stewart, who was playing in his first Hong Kong Open since 2008 after winning the qualifying tournament at Kau Sai Chau a month before, failed to get his putter to fire as he carded lacklustre scores of 79 and 75 despite striking the ball nicely, while fellow professionals Wilson Choy (73-79), Jimmy Ko (80-74) and Wong Woon-man (77-77) also found themselves at the foot of the standings.
Steven Lam, one of only two amateurs in the field (the other being England's Edward Richardson), had high expectations heading into the tournament but his form all but disappeared. Lam, who triumphed at the Hong Kong Amateur Close Championship earlier in the year to earn his berth at Fanling, was making his third appearance at the UBS Hong Kong Open but had little go his way with rounds of 80 and 79.
"I played so bad, but I was still able to enjoy it," said Lam, who joined McIlroy, Kuchar, Paul Lawrie and Europe's Ryder Cup captain José María Olazábal in the "Urban Golf Challenge", the Hong Kong Open's curtain-raiser staged in Chater Garden in Central on the eve of the tournament.
Instead, it was the 26-year-old Tang who was left flying the Bauhinia for Hong Kong after coming back brilliantly to make it through to the weekend action at Fanling for the first time.
After nine holes of his second round, Tang, who lost his Asian Tour card at the end of 2011, was five-over-par for the tournament and seemingly on his way home. But a birdie at the 10th was followed by an eagle at the 13th, where he holed a 25-foot putt, and despite a bogey at the 15th, back-to-back birdies at 16 and 17 saw him through with a shot to spare.
"It felt really good," said Tang of his second-round 67. "I was nervous and the course was playing tough, but I told myself to stay patient and go out there and do my best. It was a big relief."
Tang would finish the tournament in a share of 72nd alongside Australia's Scott Hend on a total of 291 (11-over), which earned him €2,342 (approximately HK$23,450).
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