In-form Nicolas Colsaerts continues to display the golf that earned him selection in the victorious 2012 European Ryder Cup team and revealing he had replaced one of the rescue clubs in his bag with a ‘double winning’ Callaway 2-iron.

After spending a week relaxing in Thailand, Colsaerts is again near the pointed end of a European Tour event in posting a six under par 66 on a rain-softened Lake Malaren course in Shanghai.

And Colsaerts round could have easily been a 65 with his long birdie putt on the final hole just missing its mark by millimeters.

Nicolas Colsaerts plants a kiss on the Volvo World Match-Play trophy and an event he used his Callaway 2-iron that is now back in the bag for this week’s BMW Masters. (Photo – Eoin Clarke/www.golffile.ie)

Overall, the superb effort in Shanghai continues a welcome return to form for the 2012 European Ryder Cup winning rookie who set a new European Tour ‘Long Distance’ record on route to finishing fourth in the Wales Open, and then was placed runner-up in last fortnight’s rain-shortened Portugal Masters.

However Colsaerts efforts to win a third European Tour victory this week in the Chinese financial capital has been enhanced by a ‘stranger’ who has returned to the bag of the Belgium-born bomber.

It is a Callaway 2-iron Colsaerts had in the bag in capturing the 2011 Volvo China Open and a year later going on to win the Volvo World Match-Play Championship at Finca Cortesin in Spain.

“I have a 3-iron in the bag and the next club up is a rescue club, so I thought with my length I needed something in between as there is so much of a gap between a 3-iron and the rescue clubs,” he said.

“All these guys out here have rescue clubs and Callaway made a pretty good job of it, so I arranged for Marcel Siem to bring the 2-iron out with him here to China.

“I’ve had the club for years and long before I won the Volvo China Open, and I remember hitting this great 2-iron shot with the club into 16 to defeat Graeme McDowell in the final of the Volvo World Match-Play.”

And Colsaerts is returning to competition after spending a week off at Hua Hin in Thailand, and revealing he underwent a ‘cleansing’ ceremony undertaken by local Buddhist monks.

“I went down to Thailand and spent the week relaxing with Brian (caddy) and his wife,” he said.

“But then relaxing with Brian is hardly relaxing as he’s always busy doing something.”

And get onto Colsaerts twitter page for some great shots of him with Brian and Brian’s wife relaxing in Thailand.