2007 Omega Mission Hills World Cup

Chinese star Liang Wen-chong will be aiming to cap a memorable season with a strong outing at the US$5 million Omega Mission Hills World Cup which begins on Thursday.

Liang is on the verge of being crowned Asia’s new number one as he presently leads the Asian Tour’s UBS Order of Merit race but he will this week put that ambition aside as he partners mentor and close friend Zhang Lian-wei in the 28-nation team competition at Mission Hills Golf Club.

“I’m excited about this week and it’s a bonus to have the opportunity to play with Zhang. We’ve played well as a pair over the last six years and it should be good,” said Liang today.

This will be Liang’s second appearance in the World Cup after he partnered Zhang to finish tied 17th place in Japan in 2001. The dynamic duo have set a modest target of improving that finish on home soil this week.

A late starter in the game, Liang was 17 years old when Mission Hills first staged the World Cup in 1995. During that time, there were only a handful of golf courses on the mainland but the game has boomed over the past decade with over 200 courses sprouting across the country and numerous professional events emerging on the Asian Tour.

Zhang, a self-taught golfer, has been widely credited for revolutionising golf in China with his exploits on the Asian Tour where he is a five-time winner. He is also the first mainland Chinese to play in the US Masters in 2004.

However, Liang’s recent successes, including this year where he has won once and posted eight other top-10s to lead the UBS Order of Merit, has seen him take over the mantle as Chinese number one from Zhang, who is delighted to pass the torch over to his younger compatriot.

Liang said: “In 1995, I was still an amateur and had just started playing golf. I didn’t know much about the World Cup but now that it’s going to be played at Mission Hills for the next 12 years, it will give me the opportunity to gain more experience.

“It won’t matter where we finish this year. This week will be a stepping stone for us.”

The 42-year-old Zhang has vivid memories of China’s first World Cup. “When I played in 1995 with Cheng Jun, we were intimidated playing alongside the US team of Fred Couples and Davis Love,” Zhang recalled.

“I never imagined that the game would grow so much in China and be like what it is now 12 years later. To see Mission Hills become the world’s largest golf facility with 12 courses is a great honour for all of us involved with the game here. It is great to see the World Cup come back to China which I never thought would happen. It’s an honour to play here this week for our country.

“Liang and I finished tied 17th in Japan in 2001, so our goal is to better that finish this week.

“As we are playing on home soil and with my home being in Shenzhen, I am sure we can rely on strong support from the crowds and the media as well. They will help our cause to play well.”

The Liang-Zhang combination is unbeaten in four matches over two editions of the Dynasty Cup, a Ryder Cup-style showdown between Asia and Japan.

Zhang said that one of the reasons why there combined well was because they shared the same desire to perform for their country. “We have the right chemistry and the desire to win,” he explained.

The first and third rounds of the Omega Mission Hills World Cup will use the fourball (better ball) format while the second and final rounds will use the foursomes (alternate shot) format.

November 22, 2007

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