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CADDIE'S ROLE:THERE WERE few signs of where in the world we were last week at the HSBC Champions event at the Sheshan club on the outskirts of Shanghai. The European-style mansions, the dense, transplanted foliage, the manicured fairways and the omnipresent red branding of the tournament sponsors all shielded us from any genuine sense of China.

But part of the impeccable course caresses the China many could conjure an image of when picturing how the real people live in this fascinating land. That is on the canal that runs alongside the short fourth hole.