2006 China Tour Hainan Leg - Round 3: Liang brothers take 10 shot cushion into final day

Liang Wenchong defied a miserable wet day to build a seemingly unassailable 10-shot advantage going into the final round of the Omega China Tour’s Hainan Leg at the Kangle Garden Spa. The 27-year-old shot his second successive seven-under-par 65 to move to 14 under par for the tournament, forcing at least one of his distant rivals to fly the white flag.

“Liang has given me a wonderful example of how to play a great round of golf,” said last year’s runaway winner of the China Tour Order of Merit Li Chao who moved into a tie with Zhang Lianwei for second place but, despite a three-under-par 69, slipped further away from the leader.

“If I have a chance I will say thank you to him. And then I will try to catch him. I know I’m a bit too far away already. Ten strokes behind Liang and with the great performance he showed in this round, I don’t think I stand any chance,” added Li.

Liang himself heaped praise on his older brother Liang Wenjian who has caddied for him for the past two years.

“Before I started I had a full preparation for rainy golf. I had my umbrella, a dry towel and an extra-dry glove in my bag. That allowed me to concentrate on my game. I want to say thank you to my brother, because all this kind of preparation was all based on our understanding of each other. I guess we are working together better and better,” Liang said of his bag carrier, who is one year his senior.

“To me he is more than a caddy. Even outside tournaments, he will watch my swing and my stance, especially the stance. I have a really good stance right now. It is all because of the way he studies me all the time. He might not be a good coach, but to me in the situation for me right now I will say he offers me a lot of assistance. This is why I am so appreciative. Two 65s in a row is very good for me. I guess I’m a bit lucky! But in this kind of weather I’m delighted with a bogey-free round like this one.”

Despite five birdies and an eagle, Liang had looked as if he was going to face a stern challenge from his mentor Zhang Lianwei, who eagled the par 5 eleventh to move to 7-under-par. However, the 40-year-old veteran, who has a US Masters appearance and a European PGA Tour victory in his palmares, admitted that he let his fantastic form confuse him to the point of distraction, leading to four dropped shots on his way to a 68.

“I started thinking about whether I should go for it or just be conservative. I realise that that kind of unstable thought cost me the following two bogeys (on the 12th and 13th holes). I really hate it. I shouldn’t do that in the first place,” Zhang confessed.

“If you want to ask me should I have a team to back me up, such as giving me direction about when I’m in this kind of situation, I would say yes. At that time I definitely needed someone to tell me what I should do. I was totally lost! If there was someone, even a caddy, who could stop me thinking too much, I can guarantee there wouldn’t have been those two bogeys. Because of the rain and my loss of concentration, I hit the ball into the water on the 17th and had a double bogey out there. This is definitely not the way I wanted to finish, but still, 68 is acceptable.”

Despite the problems Zhang expressed his delight at having solved the putting problems that have plagued him recently, particularly from around 10 to 15 feet, and his surprise that he found the solution on the Omega China Tour in the form of the little-known Wu Lihui. The Shenzhen professional has been working with Zhang to keep his legs more stationary and he says the results were evident during the third round.

“I would say this has been probably the best putting performance I’ve had in the last six months,” Zhang said.

“I putted very well on the front nine. I kept telling myself I had to keep my lower body still, to make sure that if there was a movement it had to come after I struck the ball. The direction of my putts turned out pretty good, but I still have to work on how firmly I hit the ball. I guess I will stick to the way I putt and try and improve it for the final round.”

That round looks like a four-way battle for the major honours, with Zheng Wengen a further shot behind Zhang and Li Chao. The main challengers at the half-way stage have slipped completely out of contention. Yuan Hao, the first round leader, triple-bogeyed the short par 4 fifth hole after finding water and shot a 76. Liao Guiming, third overnight, reached the turn even par for his round and then leaked seven shots on his way home.

Omega China Tour – Hainan Leg

Leading Third Round scores

(Par 72)

202 – Liang Wenchong 72-65-65

212 – Li Chao 76-67-69, Zhang Lianwei 72-72-68

213 – Zheng Wengen 70-73-70

216 – Xiao Zhijin 73-70-73, Yuan Hao 66-74-76

217 – Liu Guojie 74-72-71

218 – Huang Mingjie 78-68-72, Qi Zengfa 74-72-72, Tan Guohua 76-68-74

219 – Lai Yuanlang 70-76-73, Tan Yongzong 74-75-70, Xing Xiaoxuan 74-70-75

220 – Chen Dongsheng 74-72-74, Deng Yonghong 75-74-71, Gu Cuilin 75-71-74, Gu Shutao 75-71-74, Wu Ashun (A) 78-72-70

221 – Huang Yonghuan 76-73-72, Liao Guiming 73-69-79, Shang Lei 77-74-70, Wu Xujun 74-75-72, Xia Zhengrong 75-76-70, Zheng Shaoguang 75-75-71