Liao moves into second on Order of Merit with Sofitel win

Liao Guiming’s RMB150,000 paycheque from his dramatic play-off victory over Zhang Lianwei in the Sofitel Golf Championship has seen the 30-year-old leapfrog Li Chao into second place in the Omega Order of Merit.

Zhang, 42, leads the Omega Order of Merit with RMB330,000 from his victory at the season-opening Guangzhou Championship and runner-up finishes in the Dell Championship in Xiamen and the Sofitel in Nanjing, while the consistent Liao has won RMB259,450 from five events.

Liao, who lives with his wife and two-year-old son in Nanning in Guangxi, between Guangdong province and Vietnam, was third behind Zhang and Li in last week’s Omega Order of Merit after finishing joint runner-up with good friend Chen Xiaoma in the Shanghai Championship.

However, his breakthrough Sofitel victory in Nanjing has put him up with the big boys in a race traditionally dominated by Li, who won the money list in 2005 and 2007, and Zhang, victorious in 2006. Between them, Li, Zhang and Liang Wenchong won all but three of the first 20 events of the Tour.

Encouragingly, the 2008 season has already seen five different champions in five tournaments, with Zhang, Li, Chinese Taipei invites Lu Wen-teh and Hsu Mong-nan, and now Liao all picking up silverware.

Liao’s victory in Nanjing was hard fought and well deserved, as the Fujian-born battler had held or shared the lead for all four days with rounds of 66, 69, 69 and a closing 74.

The final round at the Nanjing Zhongshan International Golf Club was a thriller, with Liao, Zhang and teenage star James Su Dong slugging out a three-way battle for the title, with each holding the lead for a period on the back nine of the famed Gary Player-designed layout.

Su, 18, led outright after a birdie on the par-five 14th, but two water shots on the par-four 16th resulted in a triple-bogey and Zhang taking the lead.

But after Zhang bogeyed the 17th, Liao was level with the grand master of Chinese golf heading to the last hole, where both players parred to force a play-off. Su looked set to join them after a sublime approach to four feet, but missed the play-off putt having been distracted on his first address.

Liao then split the 18th fairway again on the first play-off hole, while Zhang hit into trees on the left and struggled to a double-bogey, leaving Liao to comfortably three-putt for victory.

Liao enjoyed a surprise bonus when he walked off the 18th green to be greeted by his wife Lin Ke, who had secretly flown in for the final round without telling her husband.

Liao turned pro in 2003 after representing China in the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, but had never won a professional tournament until Sunday. Before his Sofitel breakthrough, the quiet man with the cheeky smile had posted 10 top-10 finishes in his first 20 appearances on the Omega China Tour.

Omega Order of Merit – Omega China Tour (click here for full list):

(As at May 25, 2008, after the Sofitel Championship)

1. Zhang Lianwei RMB330,000
2. Liao Guiming RMB259,450
3. Li Chao RMB200,750
4. Chen Xiaoma RMB111,500
5. Wu Weihuang RMB73,230
6. Chen Dinggen RMB73,200
7. Liu Anlin RMB72,600
8. Jim Johnson RMB67,850
9. He Shaocai RMB67,134
10. Wu Kangchun RMB62,417

May 26, 2008

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