Round 4 Notebook: World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions

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Martin Kaymer

• After making par on his first six holes of the final round, Kaymer birdied six of his next seven holes and eight in 11. His only pars during the run came on Nos. 9, 14 and 16. He shot a 9-under 66 to win his first World Golf Championships event.

• Kaymer began his third round with back-to-back bogeys on the second and third holes. Those were his last bogeys of the tournament. He played the final 33 holes in 15-under, including a back-nine 29 Sunday.

• Kaymer first became eligible for a World Golf Championships event at the 2008 Accenture Match Play Championship. Since that tournament, where he lost in the first round and posted a tie-for-33rd finish, he has not missed a World Golf Championships tournament, playing in 15 consecutively. His previous-best performances were a runner-up showing to Luke Donald at this year's Accenture Match Play Championship and a tie for third at the 2010 Cadillac Championship.

• By winning the HSBC Champions, Kaymer became the ninth different player to capture both a World Golf Championships event and a major championship, joining Stewart Cink, Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, Geoff Ogilvy, Vijay Singh, David Toms, Mike Weir and Tiger Woods. Kaymer is the first to make his first two PGA TOUR wins a major championship and a World Golf Championships event.

• As a non-member of the PGA TOUR, Kaymer's win at the HSBC Champions counts as unofficial and so do his earnings. But the victory does qualify him for a spot in the PGA TOUR's season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions in January in Hawaii.

Fredrik Jacobson

• Jacobson's second-place finish at the HSBC Champions comes a week after he finished third in Kuala Lumpur at the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic Malaysia, an unofficial PGA TOUR event.

• Jacobson's previous best World Golf Championships performances were a tie for ninth at the 2003 Accenture Match Play Championship and a tie for 11th at the 2011 Bridgestone Invitational.

Graeme McDowell

• Going back to 2010's final round at the HSBC Champions (3-under 69), McDowell has five consecutive rounds in the 60s at Sheshan International Golf Club.

• McDowell had a bogey at the par-3 12th in the second round then either had birdies or pars the rest of the way, playing his final 42 holes in 11-under.

Charl Schwartzel

• After making the turn with a 2-under 34 Sunday, Schwartzel parred his next four holes before going on a five-birdie binge to end the tournament. He shot a final-round 65 and moved to solo third after starting the day tied for 15th.

• Earlier this year during his victory at the Masters Tournament, Schwartzel birdied the final four holes of his final round at Augusta National.

Rory McIlroy

• McIlroy began the final round four strokes behind leader Fredrik Jacobson and remained in contention until the back nine, when he faltered with bogeys on Nos. 11 and 14.

• McIlroy posted his third consecutive top-five finish at the HSBC Champions. Playing on a course he calls one of his favorites, McIlroy shot a 69 in the final round at Sheshan International Golf Club to tie for fourth. In 2009, McIlroy was fourth. Last year, he finished fifth.

• This is McIlroy's 12th World Golf Championships start, with his fourth-place finish at the 2009 HSBC Champions his previous best performance. He tied for fifth at the 2009 Accenture Match Play Championship and tied for sixth earlier this year at the Bridgestone Invitational.

Paul Casey

• Casey needed a win this week to retain his PGA TOUR playing privileges after not playing the requisite number of events in 2011 and finishing No. 131 on the money list. A win at the HSBC Champions counts as an official victory for current PGA TOUR members and comes with a three-year exemption.

• Casey and fellow Englishman Ian Poulter are the only two players to play in all seven HSBC Champions, with the last three falling under the World Golf Championships umbrella. Casey withdrew after three rounds in 2009, but aside from that year, he has finished no worse than T11, including his tie-for-fourth performance in 2011. He also was seventh in 2005, tied for sixth in 2006, tied for ninth in 2007, tied for 11th in 2008 and tied for sixth in 2010). Casey's five top-10 finishes at this event are the most by any player.

• In 28 previous World Golf Championships starts, Casey has yet to win, but he has posted 10 top-10 finishes, including back-to-back runner-up finishes at the Accenture Match Play Championship (2009-10).

Louis Oosthuizen

• Oosthuizen certainly improved on his HSBC performance from a year ago. In 2010, he tied for 72nd after rounds of 69-80-80-72. This week, he posted a course-record-tying 63 in round two and tied for seventh.

• Oosthuizen's previous best finish in a World Golf Championships event was a tie for ninth at the 2010 Bridgestone Invitational, his lone top 10 in 10 previous World Golf Championships starts until this week.

Miscellaneous Notes

• Ian Poulter is one of two players (Paul Casey) who have competed in each of the seven HSBC Champions. His best finish at this event is a tie for 13th in 2010; he tied for 13th this week.

• Hunter Mahan and Rory McIlroy were two of three players (Luke Donald) to record three top-10s in 2011 World Golf Championships events. Mahan tied for ninth at the Accenture Match Play Championship, was ninth at the Cadillac Championship and tied for seventh this week in Shanghai. McIlroy tied for 10th at the Cadillac Championship, tied for sixth at the Bridgestone Invitational and tied for fourth at the HSBC Champions).

• Luke Donald, who did not play the HSBC Champions because of the pending birth of his child, is the only player this year to record top-10 finishes in all the World Golf Championships events he played. Donald won the Accenture Match Play Championship, tied for sixth at the Cadillac Championship and tied for second at the Bridgestone Invitational.

• Of the players who played all four World Golf Championships events, Hunter Mahan and Rory McIlroy, with three each, had the most top-10s. Those with two: Martin Kaymer (second at Accenture Match Play Championship; won HSBC Champions); Graeme McDowell (tied for ninth at Accenture Match Play Championship; third at HSBC Champions); Rory McIlroy (tied for 10th at Cadillac Championship; tied for sixth at Bridgestone Invitational); Adam Scott (tied for sixth at Cadillac Championship; won Bridgestone Invitational).

• Zhang Xin-Jun's tie for 13th in his first World Golf Championships event is the highest finish by a Chinese player in the history of the series.

HSBC Champions and PGA TOUR eligibility

• For 2011, the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions counted as an official PGA TOUR victory and offered a three-year exemption on the PGA TOUR -- provided it was won by a PGA TOUR member. That scenario did not occur.

• With Martin Kaymer winning the HSBC Champions, he does not receive a PGA TOUR exemption, but he does qualify for the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

• Kaymer's prize money from the $7 million purse does not count toward the official PGA TOUR money list.