HSBC CHAMPIONS LOG DAY 1: Henrik is swinging in the rain

SWEDEN'S reigning European champion Robert Karlsson had the honour of hitting the first ball in the 2008 HSBC Champions - but it was another Swede, Henrik Stenson, who topped the leaderboard after a first day of low scoring despite rain which at times was torrential.

Stenson fired a terrific 7-under par 65, one stroke better than defending champion Phil Mickelson, who leads a chasing pack of four players one stroke back. Joining him are Sergio Garcia, Anthony Kim and Adam Scott, with Oliver Wilson and surprise package Marc Cayeux of Zimbabwe a further stroke behind.

So already the tournament is living up to its promise. It's known as "Asia's Major" and it's also the first step in the 2009 European Tour, now known as The Race to Dubai.

The log below was built during the day as play unfolded, and gives a complete picture of the drama, hour-by-hour.

By the way, we'd like you to join in - so if you have any (strictly printable!) comments about the HSBC tournament, the players, or a relevant golf topic, then fill in the form on the home page.

CHAPTER 7) 15.30 to 16.30 LOCAL TIME (GMT +8): Phil Mickelson has not topped the leaderboard all day, but he's always been thereabouts, and despite the awful weather during the second half of his round, he has ended with a round of 66.

A birdie at the par-5 18th, which played easily all day despite the weather, gave Mickelson's many local fans plenty to cheer. He remains an extremely popular figure after his play-off win last year.

6) 14.30 to 15.30: Sergio Garcia has set a cracking pace despite playing much of the last hour of his round in heavy rain. He's drying off in the clubhouse with 66 beside his name, 6-under par.

Chasing hard is Ireland's Peter Lawrie also on 6-under and with just two to play. And Marc Cayeux is hanging in there - he came home in 5-under 67, an amazing effort by the little-known man from Zimbabwe. His win at the Nashua Masters on the Sunshine Tour qualified him for the HSBC Champions, and he is clearly making the most of his opportunity.

Anthony Kim joins Garcia on 66 with two birdies in the last three holes, and with the 18th playing easily, Henrik Stenson should at least join them - and maybe even overtake because 18 is yielding birdies.

A three-birdie burst in the last four holes has suddenly put England's Oliver Wilson in the frame. He came home with a 67 - and Adam Scott is on the charge as well. A bogey at three is the only blemish so far on his round which also includes seven birdies, leaving him 5-under to play the last.

As for the weather, if you have been with us all day, you will know it started in hazy sunshine, deteriorated into steady light rain, which then became torrential. It eased for a while in the last half-hour but now it's tipping down again.

No worries, though for a new leader - Henrik Stenson has birdied the last to move to 7-under, Scott tucking in behind him also with a birdie at the last to finish on 6-under.

So right now, among the finishers, it's Stenson on 65 by one from Garcia, Scott and Kim, with Wilson and Cayeux two off the pace.

5) 13.30 to 14.30: Oh Dear... the hazy sunshine of start time turned to light rain - and that, in turn, has become a torrential downpour. It's miserable for the spectators who enjoyed some scintillating play early on - and even worse for the players who have to duck out tentatively from their umbrellas to make a stroke.

Some players can keep their game together in these conditions, however, and Peter Lawrie is clearly one of those. With three to play, he's taken the lead on 6-under, with Sergio Garcia and Henrik Stenson one stroke back. Garcia looks set to be clubhouse leader - he's 5-under with just two to play.

The early starters are coming in now - Robert Karlsson the early clubhouse leader with a 3-under 69, but seeming certain to be overtaken by Garcia in a few minutes' time.

A little local cheer, with two Chinese players, Shang Lei and Liang Wen-chong both home on 71, 1-under, as is Sweden's Mikael Lundberg.

The picture at the top is clearing a little - as is the rain, which is now down to a misty drizzle. Lawrie leads on 6-under, now with one to play, followed by three players on 5-under - Garcia after 17, Cayeux after 16 and Stenson after 13.

Of the big-name contenders, just off the radar now, Anthony Kim is 4-under with three to play, while Phil Mickelson is back to 3-under after a bogey at 12. In the same group, Ian Poulter is having a decent day, also 3-under. Same score for Aussie Adam Scott, now sporting bushy whiskers - he's played 10.

Padraig Harrington is 2-under with one to play, with Paul Casey also 2-under after 16.

4) 12.30 to 13.30: News from our readers - and Alex (thank goodness!) is a fan. He writes: "Love this site and looking forward to a great event. Come on Villegas! By the way, can you put a link in the blog to the Contact Us icon?"

Thanks for the tip Alex, we've added the link to make it easy - so come on folks, let's have your views! As for Camilo - right now he's two over after 14, trying to rescue things after four bogeys in his first seven holes. Long way to go yet, though.

Up ahead, it's Henrik Stenson now, sizzling to five-under. An eagle and four birdies in his first eight holes in some start. Tucked in behind now, six players on four-under, among them a glittering array of names...Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and Anthony Kim.

Prayed Marksaeng, carrying Asian hopes through these early stages, has also made a really solid start in that same chasing pack, out in 32 after a really solid start of five pars and four birdies.

Marc Cayeux of Zimbabwe and Frenchman Gregory Bourdy are also right in the thick of it four-under - and here comes England's Paul Casey to join them. He's swinging in the rain with four birdies in his first eight.

Here's a twist - suddenly the big names find two lesser lights up ahead showing the way. Prayed Marksaeng has stepped clear at 6-under, coming through to the front nine after starting his day at the 10th. He joined the eagle club at hole two - as Cayeux had done just before him. Cayeux is at 5-under along with Kim, Garcia and Stenson.

The first dent in Mickelson's round - a bogey six at the 9th drifts him back to the pack on 4-under, now along with Casey, Gregory Bourdy and a new name in the frame, the Malaysian Ben Leong.

3) 11.30 to 12.30: They started in hazy sunshine two hours ago - now that all the players are on the course, they might need the wet weather gear because there's light rain across Sheshan now, forecast to get heavier as the afternoon goes on.

It hasn't hindered the quality of play though, and minus-2 is no longer good enough to lead. At 3-under all of a sudden, a cluster of top quality names. Phil Mickelson has followed his eagle at two with a birdie at three, Robert Karlsson is soldiering on adding a birdie at nine to go out in 33, Henrik Stenson becomes the third player to eagle two - then birdies three and four. If he hadn't bogeyed the first he'd be in the lead alone now.

Anthony Kim, the other man to have eagled at two, adds a  birdie at six and he's three-under as well - and Thailand's Prayad Marksaeng is keeping the Asian interest alive, 3-under after six.

Marksaeng birdies the 17th - his eighth - to step ahead at 4-under and lift Asian spirits but immediately he's joined out front by Mickelson, Stenson and Kim to form a leading quartet.

Champ Phil obviously has happy memories, and his pre-tournament concentration on putting is standing him in good stead. Two birdies and an eagle in his first five holes of the day give an ominous nudge to his rivals that he has remembered just how to play this course.

Henrik Stenson is one of the few to be happy in the red at a "branch" of HSBC - an eagle and three straight birdies from two onwards. If only he hadn't begyed the first!

And then there's Anthony Kim, the man the Americans see as a natural successor to Tiger Woods. He's also a full member of the European Tour now and is excited to be in the Race to Dubai. At this rate he will take some catching over the next 12 months. That eagle at two and birdies at six and seven put him in the leading group.

Newly-joining them after his 11 holes, Sergio Garcia, so often the nearly-man but as a golfing ambassador for Dubai he has an added incentive in 2009. He's come of the turn in 34 to birdie the 10th and 11th.

2) 10.30 to 11.30: Things are really taking shape now with Karlsson top of the leaderboard, 2-under after six alongside Anthony Kim, who had the first eagle of the day at the second.

Also 2-under are the South African Richard Stern, with birdies at two and four, Graeme McDowell after birdies at two and five, and Mark Cayeux, another of the French contingent to start well, with birdies at 13 and 14, his fourth and fifth holes.

Two-under still leads the way as the first groups out approach the turn. With 77 players starting from two start tees, the round should finish comfortably by mid-afternoon.

The early promise of sunshine breaking up the mist has faded somewhat. The mist is down again, there's not a breath of wind, and rain is apparently forecast for later in the day.

Not so good, perhaps, for the final groups of three who are now just starting out. At least if the weather does turn for the worse, nobody will miss the cut. All the players are guaranteed to play four rounds.

Sergio Garcia is on the leaderboard now and looking very steady. He adds a birdie at seven to the earlier one at two and now he's in a leading group which includes...Garcia, Robert Karlsson, Henrik Stenson, Prayad Marksaeng, Gregory Bourdy, Richard Sterne, Paul CAsey, Padraig Harrington, Anthony Kim, KJ Choi, Ian Poulter, all two under at various stages of their round.

Oh, and here's a new name in lights now - a certain Phil Mickelson. The defending HSBC champion has eagled the second to make an immediate impact.

1) 09.30 to 10.30: It's appropriate that Swedish star Karlsson has the honour, because, as the new European Tour champion for 2008, he was also launching the 2009 season and the Tour's exciting Race to Dubai, the new-style 2009 Tour order of merit.

Karlsson is alongside the European Tour's newest star recruit, the colourful young Colombian Camilo Villegas (see separate story) and local favourite Liang Wen-chong. They both hit the first in regulation as does Sergio Garcia, leading the second group alongside Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell.

They are playing from the first - leading the other half of the field, teeing off from 10, another Swede, Mikael Lundberg, and Aussie Rick Kulacz both make par. But behind them the French charge starts - the first of their four in Sheshan, Jean-Francois Lucquin, birdies 10, as does playing partner Scott Hend of Australia.

The first long hole, the 550yd 2nd, catches out Villegas who now has a 6 on his card. Liang shows him how, the Chinese star landing his first birdie while Karlsson pars.

Padraig Harrington's round starts in regulation at 1, but he birdies the par 5 second to get some red on his line. Playing partner Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand also birdies.

Karlsson and Liang are inspiring each other - both birdie the 362-yd par four third to go two-under. Local fans - of whom there are many already - are thrilled with that. But Villegas, on his debut as a full European Tour member, is not of to a happy start. A bogey 5 at the third leaves him two over after 3.

After Lucquin's early sparkle, another French star, Gregory Bourdy goes into the red with a birdie at 12, his third hole.