CHINA TOUR - KUNMING LEG RELATED STORIES Kunming Leg home page Kunming Leg Preview Round 1: Zheng fires 11 birdies in a 66 Round 2: Zheng increases lead as rain halts play Round 3: Zheng takes 4 shot lead into last round Round 4: Zheng takes massive maiden victory Final Scores & Prize Money About the Lakeview Club Course Golf Today's guide to courses in Yunnan Province Omega China Tour Order of Merit after the Shanghai Leg ASIAN GOLF TODAY TOP STORIES Open: Pain for Choi as Harrington defends Open: Closing 74 gives Liang more major hopes Open: Tough Open makes Lam eye Asian success Open: Angelo Que means to learn and return Open: Late bogies mean early exit for Prayad IGF forms Olympic Committee with eye to 2016 Mission Hills to host AP Summit GOLF TODAY TOP STORIES Padraig Harrington hungry for more success Michelle Wie to play on PGA Tour again IGF forms 2016 Olympic Committee Greg Norman proud of achievement Ian Poulter impressive with second place Henrik Stenson happy with his best ever finish

Zheng takes four shot lead into final round

China’s Zheng Wengen remained on course for his first victory in five years after an even-par 72 gave him a four-shot lead after three rounds of the Kunming Leg on the Omega China Tour.

Zheng, who has led the US$100,000 tournament since day one, was once again a picture of composure at Lakeview Golf Club.

His round did not boast the heroics of his opening day 66, when he fired 11 birdies, and his ensuing 68, but it was enough to hold off the chasing pack.

Chen Xiaoma, Liao Guiming and Li Chao all made bold bids to make up ground on the leader but finished the day tied for second.

Chen carded a bogey-free 67, Liao fired a 68 while Li came in with a 71, following a disappointing finish that saw him bogey 16 and 17.

Victory on Sunday will mean so much to Zheng, who turned professional along with Zhang Lianwei and Cheng Jun in 1994, but has struggled to make his mark in the game.

He has come close to winning twice before - finishing joint second in this year’s Yanji Golf Championship and in Zhuhai last season.

“In terms of the importance of winning this tournament, on a scale of 1 to 10, I would give it a 9.8!” said Zheng, who leads the tournament on 10-under-par 140.

The 41 year old had started the day four in front and kept his lead the same with two birdies on the front side and two bogeys on the homeward stretch.

Zheng is also coming off a back injury he suffered earlier in the year which caused him to change his approach to the game.

“I was playing in a tournament at the start of the year and my back got so bad that I could not even bend over and pick up my marker. That made me realize I was getting old and really had to work on making myself mentally stronger, as my physical side was getting weaker,” added Zheng.

The athletically built golfer has a remarkably consistent record on the Tour since it was inaugurated in 2005. He finished in the top 10 in all four events that first year and claimed three the top 10s in the six events that were held last year.

Li, winner of the previous two events on Tour and currently in second place on the Omega Order of Merit, was gradually reeling in Zheng after an eagle on the par-five 12th put him eight under for the tournament before he slipped up over the closing holes.

Leading Third Round Scores (click here for full leaderboard) - Par 72 :

206 - Zheng Wengen 66-68-72

210 - Li Chao 72-67-71, Liao Guiming 71-71-68, Chen Xiaoma 73-70-67

211 - Shang Lei 75-68-68

212 - Huang Mingjie 69-69-74, Liu Guojie 73-66-73, Qiu Zhifeng 74-66-72, Cheng Haibao 70-72-70

213 - Yang Wenzhang 71-69-73, Deng Yonghong 74-71-68

August 25, 2006