THE PACE of play was quicker than usual, obviously because the golfers who teed off early yesterday morning knew that there was catching up to do after two hours of play were lost because of rain on Thursday.
There were some good play among the early birds that it seemed as though a respite was needed to provide some time to soak in the swing behind some fabulous shots that generated under-par showings.
And when the Republic's favourite golfing son, Mardan Mamat, turned what looked like a certain disaster into a move to comfort zone with three superb late birdies, it was as though Singaporeans needed a break to mull over that great escape.
These, and other interesting aspects of yesterday morning, probably needed airing, and so there was divine intervention in the form of torrential rain that emptied the course but filled the hospitality marquees, temporary cafes and merchandise outlets.
So for three hours there was debate and discussion, and, of course, banter and more banter.
And so we heard that Mardan, despite his imposing absence on the Asian Tour for almost a decade now, was addressed as 'Mr Pan West' by a Macau resident who noticed his striking bag at a recent event there.
And if the same Mardan had questions about that incident, he ignored them when on his flight back from Macau on Tiger Airways, he was hounded by autograph-hunters although his last 'major' victory was in early 2005.
Favourite topic
The rain was ceaseless until almost 5pm, and in the interim, another favourite topic was the mental strength, or weakness, of the professionals.
When Lam Chih Bing, Singapore's other favourite son who held the first-round lead for a long time until Ernie Els stormed in, simply just waved and walked on when a fan shouted out his name, one onlooker shouted: 'Don't distract him, he needs to be focused.'
This fan, one among hundreds who took half-day-off to rush to Sentosa to join the gallery that followed Lam, probably realised that this was a failing among many Singapore sportsmen.
Unfortunately, he and the hordes could savour only one hole which Lam parred to stay at four-under, as the siren went for the rain-break.
Rory McIlroy's eagle on the par-five seventh (mind you, he just missed an albatross), Els' birdie on the 17th and Jeev Milkha Singh's penalty shot at hole No. 4 were also talked about.
Possibilities of a Monday finish or a 54-hole event were other topics, although the organisers and players hoped that it would not be such as their travel plans could be disrupted.
Staring down from the marquees at the ninth and 18th greens after almost two hours of rain, what many saw were two swimming pools.
Would play ever resume, they wondered.
Then suddenly, swoosh the water disappeared, thanks to a costly, sophisticated drainage system at Serapong.
'It's called the sub-air system, where a vacuum sucks in the water,' explained Blair Cornthwaite, general manager at a golf club in Ho Chi Minh City who used to be a greenkeeper.
And while the technicalities that were talked about meandered into boredom, the siren that sounded for play to resume was soothing.
Talking points
But that did not mean there was a let-up on talking points.
And so many talked about how Singapore's top amateur Quincy Quek, who waited three hours just to complete one hole, saw that it was a worthwhile wait as he birdied the finishing hole for his one-over 72.
Contrastingly, Singapore's M. Murugiah had a frustrating wait. Standing on the 10th tee, he said: 'I'm still waiting. Now I'm told I have to play one hole and then resume tomorrow. How frustrating?'
Mentally Muru's drained, said one wag.
And it will be an early morning tee-off for him today.
