2006 China Tour Zhuhai Leg - Round 1: Li Chao masterful as Zhang's putter literally fails him

Li Chao, the runaway winner of last year’s Order of Merit, proved the only player capable of mastering the Golden Gulf’s lightning-fast greens to take a convincing lead after the opening round of the Omega China Tour Zhuhai Leg.

The 26-year-old from Beijing was the only player to get into red figures, firing a three-under-par 69 that would have been better, but for a double-bogey on the last hole.

“I was playing quite well until the eighteenth. I cannot say I was not disappointed but this is only the first day so I wouldn’t worry too much about it. It’s not time to conclude a tournament until all four rounds are finished,” he claimed, in stark contrast to the ‘colourful’ English he used as his third putt dropped and then continued to utter long after his round was finished.

The blemish on the final hole took some of the shine of what was still a dominant display on a day when only two players – Yuan Hao and Qiu Zhifeng – managed par.

“The greens are very fast, the pin positions are very difficult, one would rather put uphill than downhill. The greens are harder and faster than last year and are very difficult to control,” Li said.

“I was feeling very good; my putting wasn’t bad, my irons were good, and physically I’m feeling very well, and I didn’t make many mistakes. I’m happy with my performance.”

Less content was Zhang Lianwei, the 41-year-old pathfinder for professional golf in China who’s hopes of ending a victory drought stretching back to 2003 weren’t helped by a faulty putter as he limped to a three-over-par 75.

“In 20 years this is the very first time that my putter has become loose. It started on the eighth hole. I could feel the putter head was not even and it became looser and looser,” Zhang explained.

“My caddie told me there was nothing we could do. He told me to hold it short and it worked. I had two birdies like that, but still it bothered me all the way to the end. I know I wasn’t fully focused on my game because I was thinking I don’t have a spare putter here and there’s no way I can fix it. Of course I know if I was in Japan after nine holes it could be easily done by the tournament’s club-repair service. I’m in China. I know I have to help myself. All these thoughts just kept hanging in my head.”

At one stage Zhang had looked like he could still post a decent score as he was one under par with four holes to play, but a double-bogey on the 15th, where he drove into trees and three-putted, was followed by a drive into water on the next hole.

“It was definitely not my day. The things I know are that I must fix my putter and that there’s still a long way to go!”

Tournament officials were last night attempting to confirm Zhang’s woes, although it was felt unlikely that he had breached any of the rules relating to non-conforming clubs, regulations that can lead to disqualification.

Meanwhile Zhang wasn’t the only one to falter in the closing stages as the afternoon winds grew in strength. Both Yuan Hao and Qiu Zhifeng, the winner of last years China Tour – Kunming Leg, dropped shots late on after threatening Li Chao’s monopoly.

“I knew I was leading, I knew Li Chao was the only other one under par and that I was ahead,” said Yuan who was four-under after 12 holes thanks to eagles on two of the par fives, but shot double-bogey on the 16th and bogeyed both the 13th and 17th too..

“I was feeling really stressed, which also affected the later part of this round. I always do this - start very well, feeling confident, but once I hit one bad shot, I immediately get frustrated. I have been thinking of getting a coach to help me with my psychology, but unfortunately I haven’t found one yet.”

Qiu Zhifeng had a similar tale, except it was hit putter that let him down during a stretch of four bogeys and one birdie in the last six holes.

One shot further back is Wu Weihuang who, playing in the same group as Zhang Lianwei, slipped from one under par to one over late in his round.

“If I didn’t make two bogeys in the last three holes I would be really happy about the way I played. On the front nine I only missed one green in regulation. I really got my irons going,” he said.

“The pin positions on the back nine were either close to the water or guarded with bunkers or by the undulations on the green. I had to be very careful about where the ball should land. I was landing it where I wanted and my putter really worked, but on the last hole my putter stuck to the grass in my backswing. I was thinking about stopping and redoing it, but you know it just happened, I couldn’t stop and that’s why I needed two putts from 10 feet.”

Meanwhile Liao Guiming, normally a contender on the Omega China Tour, signed for a 12-over-par 84 with what the Chinese would call ‘a smile like a flower in bloom’. The 28-year-old became a father for the first time on Tuesday and cheerfully explained he has hardly slept since.

Omega China Tour – Zhuhai Leg

Leading First Round scores (Par 72)

69: Li Chao
72: Qiu, Zhifeng, Yuan Hao
73: Wu Weihuang
74: Chen Jian, Liu Anda, Liu Jian, Qi Zengfa, Shang Lei, Yuan Zheng
75: Huang Mingjie, Liu Qiang, Tan Yongzong, Xiao Zhijin, Zhang Lianwei
76: Lai Yuanlang, Liu Xin, Wu Ashun (A), Yuan Tian, Zhou Xunshu

May 11, 2006

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