In the coal darkness, Andy Johnston is sniffing grass. It’s just before 6am at Sentosa Golf Club and the practice green at the Tanjong Course is being mowed. The clippings are put in a bucket and Johnston scoops out a handful and brings it to his nose. If it smells sour he has a problem, but it’s fine. On the morning of Feb 29, the first day of the HSBC Women’s World Championship, most everything is sweet.

Johnston, who has a longer title than some royalty – general manager/director of agronomy; resident golf course architect – is a man of the earth. The game doesn’t move him, the course calls him. When fussy artists with clubs come visiting, he and his team offer them a gift. A world-class canvas.