For spectators, this year's Hong Kong Open was a fantastic experience. Fifteen thousand people on the final day - a fact which didn't escape Rose who described it as "a magnificent turnout" - pays testament to that, as did Wednesday's "Community Day", which brought a lot of joy to local Hong Kong people who wouldn't ordinarily find themselves at a golf event.
If the vast number of spectators brought their children, they'd be happier even still. The new spectator village, housed on the 18th fairway of the Old Course, was the biggest and most amenity-packed it has ever been. Such were the activities on offer away from the play that I, for once, felt confident enough to suggest to my wife that we bring our five-year-old twin daughters up on that final afternoon. They don't know who Justin Rose is. They do know what a sandpit is, however, and spent a happy 30 minutes building sandcastles in the hazard that fronts the Old Course's home green. But that was only because they were waiting their turn for an introductory golf lesson (thank you Ducky Tang, coach at the HKGA), and for their faces to be painted by the on-site artists at hand (butterflies and princesses, if you were wondering). Believe me, it made a huge difference.
The Hong Kong Open is most definitely back ... it is better than it has ever been, and for more people than it has ever seen. Long may it continue.
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