2006 China Tour Dell Championship - Round 3: Three ages of golf in China to battle last round

Big-hitting Yuan Hao, 18-year-old amateur Hu Mu and the legendary Zhang Lianwei will represent the three generations of Chinese golf when they play together in Sunday's final flight of the US$100,000 Dell Championship, the second tournament on the 10-event Omega China Tour.

The 28-year-old Yuan, part of China's ¡®second generation', shot a one-under-par 69 to go four-under at the Orient (Xiamen) Golf and Country Club. Florida-based Hu was one behind after a 72, which included an early triple-bogey.

Most eyes will be on the 42-year-old Zhang Lianwei, who soared up the leaderboard with a bogey-free 65 to join defending champion Li Chao and local hero Wu Weihuang on two-under.

Yuan, who represented China in the 2002 Asian Games, is one of the Omega China Tour's most consistent performers and was the top Chinese finisher in last week's KEB Invitational in Shanghai.

However, he's still looking for his first Tour title, having finished runner-up to Li in the 2006 Shandong Championship and to Zhang in last September's Guangzhou Championship.

"I know that the winner gets a nice trophy and a Dell laptop. I want to have both!" laughed Yuan, whose sole career victory was in the 2005 Royal Orchid Classic, where he beat Zhang in a play-off.

"I'm driving well, so I'll focus on my short game and especially my putting, as the greens are slow."

Hu, who had led by two strokes after a second-round 65, was four clear of Yuan after he birdied the first, which his playing partner bogeyed. However, a pushed tee-shot into an unplayable lie on the next hole led to a triple-bogey.

Impressively, the teenager quickly recovered his composure to shoot two more birdies on the front nine and make the turn in even-par. A student at the David Leadbetter Golf Academy, Hu instead paid tribute to another famous tutor, Dr Jim Loehr, a renowned performance psychologist.

"I was really happy with the way I recovered after the triple, as I remembered what Jim Loehr said about being positive after mistakes," said Hu, currently ranked 11th in the American Junior Golf Association rankings.

"In fact, my friend once made a 10 on a par-five and then went on to win the tournament, so I have hope."

Zhang, part of China's ¡®first generation' of golfers when he turned pro in 1994, admitted he was looking forward to playing with representatives of the younger generations on what promises to be a gripping final round in Xiamen.

"I've played with Yuan Hao a lot, but I've never played with Hu Mu in a competition before. However, I played with him in a practice round on Tuesday, along with Su Dong, who's another of this new generation," said Zhang, who was watched by his wife and his three-year-old son Tianjia, nicknamed ¡®Tiger'.

"As one of the first generation of Chinese golfers, I'm really happy to see this new generation emerge and to see Hu playing so well."

Zhang admitted, however, that he'll have only one person and one aim in mind on Sunday.

"My aim is clear: to win," said Zhang, who in 2004 became the first Chinese to play in the US Masters. "Before I came here, my aim was to win and I will not give up on this until I've played my very last shot."

While Zhang looks to win his third successive event on the Omega China Tour, Li Chao is another big presence in the chasing pack. The Omega Order of Merit champion in 2005 and 2007 said he will not give up his title without a fight.

"I managed to win last year with a good final round, so I'll have to do that again," said the 27-year-old, who won last September with a closing 66 to pip Shang Lei after starting the day seven behind third-round leader Wu Kangchun.

Wu Weihuang, who shot 70 to remain on two-under, also has a huge motive to win in his native Xiamen, where he would be a very popular champion.

"I'll have a lot of support and I seriously want to win because I still haven't won on this Tour," said the 39-year-old former Kung Fu champion.

Chinese Taipei's Chan Yihshin, joint runner-up with compatriot Hsu Mongnan in the season-opening Guangzhou Championship, is on one-under, while Hsu and Zhou Xunshu are joint-seventh on even-par.

March 29, 2008

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