HSBC CHAMPIONS LOG DAY 3: Round 2 complete and Round 3 starts

THE 2008 HSBC Champions is firmly back on the rails after the disappointing loss of Friday's play. Round 2 has been completed with some fabulous golf, and Round 3 has already started. The tournament will be completed on Sunday and Monday.

With so much standing water from yesterday's downpour, and constant rain overnight and into this morning, the hoped-for 06.45 start was shelved for three hours.

And when play started, on a course still soggy in places, there was some terrific golf. The leaderboard changed over and over with a succession of superstar names. Overnight leader Henrik Stenson never left the top ten and nor did Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott or Phil Mickelson.

Into the mix came the bright young English star Oliver Wilson, Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell, and 2006 US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy. The Aussie star fired a 65 to take the clubhouse lead which he held at 9-under until the last two reached the last green of their round. Then Garcia and Stenson both birdied to end the day at the top 10-under.

McDowell, eight under after Round 2, added a birdie in the third to end the day alongside Ogilvy on 9-under. Welsh Open champion Scott Strange, rising Spanish star Alvaro Quiros and Adam Scott are also still in the thick of it at 7-under.

The "joker" in the superstar pack, however, is Marc Cayeux. Having lost and not regained his European card, he reverted to the South African Sunshine Tour. A win there gave him his entry to the HSBC, and he certainly is making the most of it.

He started the day 5-under after an impressive 67 on Thursday, and even though paired with Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott, he was not even slightly overawed. He smiled through thick and thin and won a huge underdog's following in the crowd. He rewarded them by at one stage taking the sole lead. It didn't quite last, but without the unfortunate seven he collected on the par-5 eighth hole, he would have been even better placed.

Read on for how the dramatic day unfolded, hour by hour, running in chapters, reading down from the top of each to the end of that hour.

CHAPTER 1) 09.45 to 10.45 Local Time (GMT +8hrs): It's sheer relief for the players, fans - and the organisers - that Round 2 is finally under way. No news yet as to how the remainder of the tournament will pan out.

First drama of the day comes before the start, with news that Chinese hopeful Liao Gui-ming has withdrawn because of a cut hand. He was already in the group of two, which was necessary mathematically with 77 players, so Darren Clarke has moved up from the group below to play a twosome with Trevor Immelman. That means Clarke's original group is also two, Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark and the Korean Mo Joong-Kyung.

Those groups are starting from the 10th. From the first tee the leading trio consists of England's Richard Finch, Zhang Lian-wei of China and KJ Choi of Korea.

Despite the conditions, the opening holes are panning out pretty much as they did on Thursday. Most players are parring the 459-yard 1st in four, and the 2nd has started yielding birdies as it had before. Finch and Choi put the first pieces of red on the board with birdies there, and it puts Finch 2-under for the tournament, five off the pace being set, if you remember (!), by Sweden's Henrik Stenson.

First bogey-man is Kiwi Mark Brown, the only one so far to be out of sync with a 6 at the 1st.

The back-nine men seem to be having a tougher time - bogeys for Clarke at the 11th and his playing partner Immelman at the short 12th have put them into plus-mode for the tournament.

It's been a largely uneventful first hour's play unless you are a fan of China's Wu Ashan, who started bogey, double bogey to drift out to 4-over overall.

2) 10.45 to 11.45: Richard Finch of England remains the day's only upward mover - until Graeme McDowell, Paul Casey and Soren Hanson join the birdie club at the 2nd, all moving to 2-under overall.

The brilliant young German Martin Kaymer makes an immediate impression - he's the only one of 16 players to have teed off at the 10th so far to birdie the par-4 hole.

Despite being a relatively short for a par-4 at 401yds, and relatively unhazarded, the 10th is proving a real problem to many starting there. Kaymer's remains the only birdie, while the hole has so far claimed three bogeys and one double-bogey.

KJ Choi has recovered well from his bogey at the 1st. He's clawed back birdies at two and three to reach 2-under overall after starting with a bogey. Bad news for local veteran hope Zhang Lian-wei, who started bogey-bogey-bogey before steadying with two pars.

Darren Clarke collected his second birdie of the day at the 6th to move to 1-under and keep an eye on Clarke's Northern Irish compatriot, Graeme McDowell, who has started par-birdie-birdie to ease to 3-under. His solo hour on the practice range yesterday is obviously paying off.

Jeev Milha Singh, the Indian star, is also 3-under now after the day's fifth birdie at the 2nd hole. The 2nd really is birdie-city - in the following group all three players, Scott Strange, Andrew McLardy and Geoff Ogilvy all beat the course - Strange is now 4-under, fellow Aussie Ogilvy And South Africa's McLardy both 3-under. Both Strange and McLardy then birdie the third - and Strange is now only two off the pace at 5-under.

Charl Schwartzel of South Africa bogeys the first, but immediately pulls back to 3-under with ... a birdie at two. Clarke has birdied three of his last four holes, and remains inc ontention at 2-under.

3) 11.45 to 12.45: Martin Kaymer is definitely enjoying the soft fairways and holding greens. He followed his birdie at the 10th (his first hole) with an eagle 3 at 14 to start repairing the damage of his first round 73.

The Irish guys are smiling as well, Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell each birdie three of their first six holes - but someone points out they have had plenty of practice in the wet because it's always raining in Northern Ireland!

It's good to see some of the less well-known players coming onto the radar. There's some VERY serious golf being played in the group with Scott Strange, Andrew McLardy and Geoff Ogilvy. The southern hemisphere guys - two Aussies with South African McLardy - have rattled in seven birdies between them in their first four holes.

McLardy and Strange are now 5-under, only two off the pace, with Ogilvy only one more back.

Here come the leading players out onto the course now and Henrik Stenson makes an immediate impact. A birdie at two stretches him out to 8-under, and England's Oliver Wilson tucks in behind him at 7-under after starting birdie-birdie.

Padraig Harrington has birdies at two and three to ease up to 5-under - and Phil Mickelson makes his first move of the day, one of many to birdie at two, which puts him 7-under. Same score for Adam Scott who also birdied two - and surprise packet Marc Cayeux of Zimbabwe birdies bith two and three to also join the 7-under group.

4) 12.45 to 13.45: Things are really coming to life now after the disappointment of Day 2. Despite the horrible rainstorm which lasted most of yesterday and through the night as well, the course seems to have soaked it up well. Luckily it was hard before this week's rain.

While there's some decent scoring going all around, it's not a happy start for one of England's big hopes - Ian Poulter has dropped a stroke at both two and three and has slipped back to -2. Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell continues his merry march however - another birdie at 10 puts him to -5.

And what about Marc Cayeux? The English-born Zimbabwean with a French-Canadian name who has not been able to win his European Tour card in recent years, came here from a win on the Sunshine Tour, and is certainly shining through the murky conditions here. Straight birdies at two, three and four have him -8 and joint top now with Henrik Stenson.

Hold tight, here's a twist. Stenson drops a stroke at the par-3 fourth and now Cayeux is in sole possession of the leadership of the HSBC Champions. The excitement obviously gets to him, and his moment of glory is short-lived. A bogey at four drops him back into the pack on 7-under, which is now five-strong. Cayeux and Stenson are followed by Adam Scott, Oliver Wilson, and another of the surprise packets, Ireland's Damien McGrane.

Phil Mickelson, a hero to local fans after his win here last year, is also back in the lead group, a birdie at five cancelling his bogey at four and shifting him back to 7-under. It's a roller-coaster ride at the top now, with Geoff Ogilvy jumping into the front-runners. He moves to -7. He's out in 32, which included three birdies.

5) 13.45 TO 14.45: A birdie at the sixth puts Marc Cayeux back on track, but he's no longer alone at 8-under. Overnight leader Henrik Stenson has recovered his dropped shot by matching Cayeux's two at the 6th - and they are joined out front now by Geoff Ogilvy, who is having an amazing round.

Ogilvy is now 6-under for the day after four birdies in a flawless front nine, followed by more birdies at 10 and 11. There are four players within a stroke of the leading trio, which means a roller-coaster afternoon in store. Phil Mickelson, Oliver Wilson, Adam Scott and Damien McGrane are all 7-under.

All change again... Graeme McDowell is having a fabulous round and after 16 he's one of four players on 8-under. McDowell has had seven birdies and looks like being the early clubhouse leader. He's played 16 - of the others now on 8-under, Stenson has played 9, Ogilvy 14 and Scott 10.

And here's some news hot off the Press. It now looks certain that this year's HSBC Champions will be completed on Monday. Those who started early today will go out again when they finish today's round and play as many holes as possible of their third round. The remaining players will start their third rounds tomorrow morning and the tournament will be completed on Monday morning.

That's an appropriate decision - it would be extremely disappointing if an event rightly regarded as "Asia's Major" were to be decided over a shortened number of holes.

The other good news is that the rain has now cleared and a strong breeze has sprung up. That should dry the course well and make sure the rain does not return.

6) 14.45 to 15.45: Spare a thought for Marc Cayeux, the little-known Zimbabwean who was briefly leading the HSBC Champions for a while earlier. He took a tournament-worst seven at the 8th hole to drop back. But he's still seven under and only two off the pacemaker, who is now Geoff Ogilvy.

The Australian, the 2006 US Open champion, is having a sensational day. Four birdies on the front nine put him into a share of the lead at 8-under, but he birdied again at 13 to go solo at the top. Leader in the clubhouse is Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell - a terrific round of 65 for him, seven under for the day.

Reigning champ Phil Mickelson is still there 8-under after 12, and overnight leader Henrik Stenson is playing steady golf to complete the trio right behind Ogilvy.

Having gone out relatively early, Ogilvy will almost certainly be one of those about to head out to the course again to start his third round. Right now he's having a well-earned sandwich and cuppa after completing a round of 65, 7-under for the round and 9-under for the tournament.

The chasing pack remains only one stroke adrift, joined now by Sergio Garcia after a terrific eagle at the par-5 14th, and Oliver Wilson, the young Engishman who has been hovering around the top a day.

Meanwhie, Darren Clarke and Trevor Immelman are out for the second time today, starting at the 10th and both content to par it..

7) 15.45 to 17.00: Geoff Ogilvy is in at 9-under as the leader, but there could yet be drama to come before Round 2 is completed because he has suddenly been joined by three other players who still have several holes to play.

Sergio Garcia has drawn level at the top after following up his eagle at 14 with a birdie at 17, while Oliver Wilson's birdie at 17 already had him alongside Ogilvy. And don't forget Henrik Stenson... the overnight leader is hanging in there, also 9-under - and just behind them, still on the course, is Phil Mickelson, who would also have been level if he had not dropped a shot on the par-3 17th.

Anyone who suspected Stenson and Garcia might be a threat to Ogilvy's lead were right - Stenson chipped in at the last go to 10-under, and Garcia, after a magnificent approach shot, tapped in a short birdie putt to join him as second round leaders.

Out on the course, the third round is well under way - but there's no-one amongst the groups who have started who can yet challenge the leaders. The only slight change on the leaderboard was Graeme McDowell adding to his second round 65 with an eighth birdie of the day.

We'll be back with the Day 4 Log tomorrow.