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Zhang and Liang support China Tour opener

The two undisputed leaders of Chinese golf, Zhang Lianwei and Liang Wenchong, have both entered the opening leg of the 2006 Omega China Tour. The pair say they have signed up for the Hainan Leg which takes place from April 6th to 9th at the Kangle Garden Spa & Golf Club to show their backing for the second season of the country's professional circuit. "I want to support the future of Chinese golf in every way I can," explained the 40-year-old Zhang, who has spent his career blazing a trail for the rest of China's golfers to follow.

"It is important to me as the so-called leader of the first generation to have the next generation in place and challenging on the international level together with me. Our young players must learn to compete on the China Tour, and give new dynamics to golf in our country. The waves must continue to crash on the beach!"

Zhang, who this year has already had a 12th place finish in the European Tour's Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, and Liang, who in recent years has divided his time between the Asian Tour and the Japan Golf Tour, were only able to enter one of the four China Tour events in 2005. The new circuit was hurriedly introduced in the second half of last year to answer the desperate need for tournaments among the rest of China's professionals, by which time Zhang and Liang's schedules had been decided.

Liang, a 27-year-old who has consistently placed in the top 10 in Japan over the past two years, emerged victorious in that one China Tour appearance - the 2005 Zhuhai Leg - and, playing in his home province, was able to celebrate his success with his entire family.

"Winning in Zhuhai last year was very memorable and I enjoyed it," he said. "I have confidence in the China Tour and want to support this circuit. After 2005, the tournaments are even more organized than before, and the Tour provides a platform for young players to realize their dreams. Though I play a lot of events overseas, I always want to play "at home", there is no place like home, and this is why I decided to play the first stop of China Tour this year."

"I am proud to participate in the China Tour," Liang continued. "China has very rich culture and its development is growing rapidly. It's encouraging that the China Tour has absorbed this heritage, and has grown to become a very well organized tour. The growth of China Tour is due to the support from many people, and the China Tour represents the development of golf in China. It is a sign of China's prosperity."

Liang and Zhang, who is the first Chinese player to win a European PGA Tour event and the first player from his country to tee up in the US Masters, are likely to face their stiffest challenge in April's Hainan Leg from 25-year-old Li Chao. The winner of two legs and the Order of Merit on the 2005 China Tour, Li suggested he was still in top form by finishing as the leading Chinese player in the recent joint European and Asian Tour sanctioned TCL Classic which was also played on Hainan Island.

However, many within the Chinese game are hopeful that others, such as Liang's former schoolmate Ryan Huang Yonghuan, amateur prodigy Liao Guiming, 2005 Kunming Leg winner Richard Qiu Zhifeng and the big-hitting Yuan Hao, will continue to show the signs of improvement evident during the China Tour's inaugural season.

"I have heard so many positive things from the players who competed in all the China Tour events last year. I have noticed that their enthusiasm has returned and that their confidence has grown," said Zhang.

"For many of them the TCL was their first tournament of 2006, which gave them good warm-up to prepare for the rest of the year. They must get used to competing regularly and, particularly, get used to feeling the pressure of being at the top of the leader board on a regular basis."

Omega China Tour - 2006 schedule (first half of season)
6th to 9th April 2006 - Hainan Leg, Kangle Garden Spa & Golf Club
11th to 14th May 2006 - Zhuhai Leg, Golden Gulf Golf Club
15th to 18th June 2006 - Shandong Leg, Tiger Beach Golf Links

March 28, 2006