2006 China Tour Leg - Event Preview

China’s golfing pathfinder Zhang Lianwei is predicting that the Omega China Tour will one day become the regions premier professional circuit. Speaking on the eve of the Shandong Leg at the Tiger Beach Golf Links, the 41-year-old explained that his country’s increasing financial strength leads him to believe that in years to come China will become a key destination for the professional game.

“I think in the future there is a great chance that players around the world will come to China to play our courses. I think that because of China’s growing economy, this tour will become more famous,” said Zhang, who was the first Chinese player to compete in the US Masters.

“When it becomes well known, I’m confident that the Omega China Tour will rise above many others. I can’t say it will beat the US PGA Tour, but it will beat many others in a few years time.

I hope this tour goes international because I think it will be very successful.”

Zhang, whose victory in last month’s Zhuhai Leg was his first victory since 2003 when he triumphed in the Volvo China Open and became the first Chinese golfer to win a European PGA Tour event, added that in the twilight of his career his priority was to play his part in ensuring his vision becomes a reality.

“I’m not young anymore. To make sure I do the most I can right now for the Omega China Tour is the most important thing for me,” he explained.

“I’ve done all the things that I can for this tour. I will do all the photo calls and press conferences. It’s not my obligation, but deep down in my heart, I love to do this for these tournaments if there’s any chance that it will help. I’m not doing it for the money; I just want this tour to be successful.”

Zhang made his comments after winning a light-hearted competition against 2005 China Tour Order of Merit winner Li Chao and Tiger Beach pro Liu Anda to see who could escape from closest to the five-foot vertical face of one of the courses infamous pot bunkers. Having triumphantly lifted his prize - a can of the beer that has made nearby Qingdao world famous - Zhang was glowing in his praise for the links course.

“I’ve heard so much about it through (Silport Group chairman) Beta Soong, who hosted the Volvo China Open at their other course in Shanghai for many years,” he said.

“I do admire the way it has been set up by Beta. It reminds me not only of the Scottish links style, but also of real traditional design. It is such a masterpiece for the Omega China Tour to play, especially the little bridge on the course. It’s sort of like St Andrews. Through that I can really feel the effort that Beta has already put in. The condition of both the fairways and greens is fabulous. It’s different from the old and hard fairways in Scotland. I know it’s an old and historical style, but this course combines great condition plus the links style. That’s why I’m very impressed. This is the best course on the Omega China Tour so far.”

The course condition has been helped by some typically Scottish weather: fog, mist and precipitation seemingly hanging in the air. As a result the greens are holding the ball relatively well, which will suit those players less familiar with the bump-and-run style of true links play.

With the sun forcing its way through the gloom earlier in the week, and the rough not as thick as it can be, the Shandong Leg might not prove as ferocious a test as originally predicted. However Liu Anda, who had been based at Tiger Beach for the past five years, warned the rest of the players not to take it too lightly.

“This is definitely not a wide course. Although everybody thinks it looks wide enough, but actually when you play it is such a narrow and testing fairway set-up,” Liu declared.

“This time the rough is not that long, especially compared to the China PGA League event played here in 2004. But still the bunkers and the course are more mature. I believe it will be a challenging four rounds of golf.”

June 14, 2006

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