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SHANGHAI - Heavy rain washed out morning play on day two of the five-million-dollar HSBC Champions tournament here on Friday, leaving organisers scrambling to squeeze in 54 holes of golf into a shortened schedule.
Sweden's Henrik Stenson was the overnight leader after the first round on seven under, one stroke ahead of an elite four-man pack of American duo Phil Mickelson and Anthony Kim, Spain's Sergio Garcia and Australian Adam Scott.
Round two was due to tee off at 8.40 am (0040 GMT) on Friday at the Sheshan International Golf Course but overnight rain continued throughout the morning, forcing players to remain in the clubhouse.
Organisers were due to make an announcement after midday on whether any play would be possible in the afternoon, with a break in the rain late in the morning giving them some hope of quickly re-starting the tournament.
However they said the earliest possible start time was 2:00 pm, meaning that even in the best-case scenario all 77 players would not be able to complete their second rounds on Friday.
The HSBC Champions has attracted one of the best fields ever for an Asian tournament, with 11 of the world's top 20 ranked players in Shanghai.
A duel between Mickelson and Garcia for the world's number two ranking has added spice to the event, co-sanctioned by the European and Asian tours.
Mickelson would lose his number two ranking to Garcia if the 28-year-old Spaniard wins the tournament.
Mickelson would also drop down if he performs badly in Shanghai and Garcia finishes in the top three.
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