Liang gets last round date with Els

China's Liang Wen-chong got his reward for battling performance in a third round of even par 72 at the Commercialbank Qatar Masters on Saturday – a final round date with Ernie Els.

The talented Chinese looked down and out when he soared to two over par for the round on a windy day at Doha Golf Club before rallying with two birdies on the 16th and 17th holes.

His three-day total of eight-under-par 208 saw him tie three-time Major winner Els in ninth place and they will enter the final round four shots behind co-leaders Retief Goosen, Nick O'Hern and Richard Green.

"It was a good comeback. I made two early bogeys on the second and fourth. I played with two great players today (Paul Lawrie and Henrik Stenson) and my concentration early on was well off. The two of them were driving it past me by some 30 to 40 yards and it kind of rattled my game," said Liang.

However, a 25-foot birdie conversion on the eighth hole calmed his nerves and Liang went on to roll in a six foot putt on the 10th to get back to even par for the round. Two more bogeys on 12 and 13 was quickly erased when he made an easy birdie on the short 16th par four hole before draining a 30 foot birdie putt on 17.

"I misjudged the winds on a few occasions. It was blowing rather strong today and made it hard. I started concentrating better at the end and birdied 16 with a chip and putt and then rolled in a 30 foot putt on 17.

"I've got to keep my concentration levels up playing with Ernie tomorrow. I'm swinging it good but the windy conditions do make it harder for us out there," said Liang.

Liang's mentor Zhang Lian-wei became famous in 2003 after beating Els for the Singapore Masters crown. The Qatar Masters title may be out of Liang's reach this time but he will be looking to eclipse the "Big Easy" on Sunday.

January 27, 2007

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