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Liang is ready to move up another level

China's top player Liang Wen-chong believes he can only get better as a player as he prepares to make his 2009 Asian Tour debut at this week’s Maybank Malaysian Open.

The 30-year-old is already regarded as one of Asia’s leading stars following two victories to go with his Order of Merit success in 2007 where he was China’s first player to be crowned the region’s number one.

“I’m still getting better. I’m still learning and I want to take it step by step,” said Liang. “I want to improve on every aspect of my game and I will work hard at it.”

While he idolises his country’s golfing pioneer Zhang Lian-wei, Liang is looking at the recent successes of India’s Jeev Milkha Singh and Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand as a model to help him attain more glory.

Liang acknowledged that his focus has let him down in the past and he wants to unlock the key to better concentration especially during the heat of battle on a Sunday afternoon.

“Jeev does his yoga regularly and Prayad meditates and you can see that it has helped them immensely. I’m also trying to do more yoga these days to see if it can help me focus better on the golf course,” said Liang.

“Every golfer wants to find a way to do things better and I’m also looking for it. Concentration is very important as you have to get your mind to trust your game when you are fighting on the golf course. It’s let me down before and I want to minimise this.”

Liang’s plan for the new season will see him splitting his time between the burgeoning Asian Tour and Europe. The Chinese ace is also keen to win a title in Europe but knows he is still very much on a learning curve when it comes to playing on the continent.

“I’ll be speaking to a lot to players like Thongchai Jaidee and Jyoti Randhawa to get their opinions on which events and golf courses that I should be playing on this year,” said Liang, who won the 2007 Singapore Masters which was sanctioned with the European Tour.

“I will certainly maintain my presence on the Asian Tour as it is due to the Asian Tour that I have become what I am today. Through my win on the Order of Merit, I received my invitation to the US Masters and British Open last year and I am grateful for this,” added Liang.

Liang is amongst a strong line-up of Asian Tour stars who will compete at Saujana Golf and Country Club for the second Asian Tour event of the 2009 Schedule.

Other top Asian Tour names who will bid for glory this week include double Malaysian Open winner Thongchai, former Asian number one Thaworn Wiratchant, Australia’s David Gleeson, Singaporean Lam Chih Bing, Korea’s Noh Seung-yul, Filipino Angelo Que and India’s Jyoti Randhawa.

February 9, 2009