CHINA TOUR - HAINAN LEG RELATED STORIES Hainan Leg Preview Round 1: Tan leads but first round unfinished Round 2: Liu Qiang two clear for final day Round 3: Li wins Leg and OM in play-off Final Scores & Prize Money Li aims to consolidate Order of Merit lead ASIAN GOLF TODAY TOP STORIES Lam Masters the art of winning Thongchai on a double hat-trick Thongchai does Indochina double Tour card battle in Cambodia Thongchai gets the job done Report predicts 30% China golf growth GOLF TODAY TOP STORIES Geoff Ogilvy leads in Hawaii Pair lead with opening 63s Olazabal warns again complacency Els makes happy Hawaiian landing Amateur: 'Big as a bucket' - true!

Liu Qiang two clear for final day

The first golfer to put his name forward when the China Tour launched in the summer of 2005 became the first golfer on the leader board going into the final round of the final event of the season. Liu Qiang stands on six under par after two rounds of the China Tour Hainan Leg having taken the lead on the completion of the first round early on the second day, following up his four-under-par 68 with a 70 when he turned straight round to play his second round at the Kangle Garden Spa and Golf Club.

The 30-year-old from Shaanxi province leads by two shots from Ryan Huang Yonghuang and Order of Merit leader Li Chao and believes he has finally lived up to the expectations of being the first player to sign up for the tour back in August.

"I didn't expect it, and didn't plan it either. It brought pressure on me in fact. Overnight I was in the newspapers and websites as the first golfer to enter the China Tour. It was a pity that I didn't play so well in the following events. I played really badly in the Beijing Leg, did OK to finish fourth in Kunming, but was not good again in the Zhuhai Leg," said Liu, who is now based at the Long Island course in Dongguan, Guangdong.

"I have been really upset. So I really wanted to try to play my best. The main reason for me playing well this time is that my drives are all very good, I'm almost never in the rough. I¡¯m almost always sending my ball beautifully onto the fairway."

Liu struck the ball particularly well during a string of four consecutive birdies around the turn. After the last of them, on the 10th hole, he walked off the green claiming he was "lucky", but this was not a case of what the Chinese would call 'a blind cat catching a dead mouse'. Liu was splitting fairway and peppering the flags.

"I played several tournaments this year but didn't get good results, so I was really lacking confidence before I came," he explained.

"It was quite surprising that I played this well, but it has felt magical! Every shot is hit with great confidence and I would like to tell everyone I will become more and more confident!"

Liu will be grouped in the final pairing with Huang and Beijing Leg winner Li, who will make a veritable Odd Couple. Li is all brooding intensity and, occasionally, fury, while the smiling Huang seems intent on living up to his given name which means 'happy forever'.

"I'm always in a good mood when I play golf, maybe this does have something to do with my name. When I play golf I always focus on golf itself, I won't let myself be unhappy," said the 28-year-old, who has made the opposite migration to most of China's professionals, leaving his hometown of Zhongshan, Guangdong to be based at Beijing's Tian'an Jiari course.

The happy-go-lucky Huang arguably had more to be content about, shooting a bogey free 68 despite a persistent breeze and rapidly drying greens as the sun finally returned in the wake of Typhoon Kai-Tak. Li Chao, meanwhile, struggled before salvaging his day with three birdies in his final four holes to register a two-under-par 70.

Two shots further behind is Yuan Hao on two under par, while overnight leaders Richard Qiu Zhifeng and Tony Tan Yongzong both slipped back. Qiu, who won in Kunming in September, shot a one over par 73 and stands fifth, one under par, while Tan, who had never seen his name on the top of any leader board before, understandably struggled with his swing tempo and dropped back to level par.

On previous form, Li Chao, who has only finished outside the top four after one of the China Tour's 11 rounds so far will be the man to beat in Saturday's final round. Certainly Liu Qiang was not counting his chickens.

"It is too early to say congratulations to me: I haven't finished the whole tournament yet,"Liu said, as Li set his sights for the final day.

"I think I still have chance. I think the winner for this leg will need to get to minus 10. So I still have six birdies to get. It also depends on how other players play. If they score well, I will have to be more aggressive, if they don't then maybe I will chose safer strategies.

"There can only be one winner," added the 25 year old, who, barring a meltdown is a certainty to claim the solid-silver Order of Merit Trophy.

"I will try my best but at the same time if anyone plays better than me and beats me I will congratulate him sincerely."

China Tour - Hainan Leg

Leading Second Round scores (Par 72)

138 - Liu Qiang 68-70
140 - Huang Yonghuan 72-68, Li Chao 70-70
142 - Yuan Hao 72-70
143 - Qiu Zhifeng 70-73
144 - Tan Yongzong 70-74
145 - Deng Yonghong 75-70, Xia Zhengrong 74-71, Zhang Chengwei 74-71
146 - Xing Xiaoxuan 74-72
147 - Fu Tai 75-72, Gao Lei 74-73, Gu Shutao 74-73, Lai Yuanlang 77-70, Liu Guojie 76-71, Xiao Zhijin 71-76, Zheng Wengen 75-72
148 - Liao Guiming 73-75, Wu Weihuang 79-69, Wu Xujun 75-73, Zheng Shaoguang 74-74
149 -Shang Lei 76-73, Shi Ningjie 75-74, Tan Guohua 76-73, Tang Jinchang 74-75
150 - Chen Jian 74-76, Chen Yu 78-72, Nie Hong 74-76, Xiao Jieyu (A) 73-77, Zhang Meng 75-75, Zhong Yongguang 74-76, Zhou Xunshu 75-75

November 4, 2005