OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP RELATED STORIES Rd 1: Battling Lam makes top 15 with fine 72 Rd 1: Choi crafts brave 72 in worst of weather Rd 1: Liang faces uphill task after opening 77 Rd 1: 17th hole birdie keeps Chia's chances alive Rd 1: Prayad struggles with wind and cold for 77 Rd 2: Choi takes lead with two closing birdies Rd 2: Liang makes first major cut with fighting 71 Rd 2: Lam makes cut and Singapore golf history Rd 2: Late bogies mean early exit for Prayad Rd 3: Choi joint 2nd as Norman storms 2 ahead Rd 3: Liang fires worthy 77 as scores soar Rd 3: Lam is blown away by Birkdale winds Rd 4: Choi heartbroken as Harrington defends Rd 4: Closing 74 gives Liang more major hopes Rd 4: Tough Open makes Lam eye Asian success Rd 4: Angelo Que means to learn and return Final scores The 2008 Open Championship home page Guide to the Royal Birkdale Course Four Australians qualify for The Open 67 Sentosa hopefuls aim for four Open berths Randhawa going for fourth Open outing Chia, Que and Ali lead Open berth battle Chia, Blyth, Lam and Que headed for Birkdale Dyson qualifies for Open - Rodgers, Brown and Jeev miss out Liang to make golfing history at Birkdale Prayad out to erase Masters misery at Birkdale Que looks to ride his winning wave Lam takes a second shot at Open Liang back in the swing and ready to shine Confident Prayad ready to face Birkdale breezes Lam aiming at top 25 - and having fun Chia out for Malaysian first at his second Open Que hoping to become a familiar face ASIAN GOLF TODAY TOP STORIES Ben Leong claims maiden victory PGA: Jeev and Wi tie for ninth Prom targets Thai win in Brunei Shin Ji-yai takes Women's British Open Asian Tour starts 2nd half on a high Norman to play 2009 Johnnie Walker Mission Hills to host AP Summit GOLF TODAY TOP STORIES Last chance to impress at Gleneagles New FedExCup points method causing surprises Vijay Singh looking forward to Deutsche Bank Players surprised by LPGA "English" rule Ryder Cup race ends at Gleneagles Tiger Woods won't swing a club till 2009

Liang faces uphill task after opening 77

Asian Tour number one Liang Wen-chong endured a baptism of fire in his British Open debut on Thursday.

The 29-year-old, the first mainland Chinese to qualify for the world’s oldest major, shot a frustrating seven-over-par 77 on a brutal day at Royal Birkdale where strong winds and lashing rain sent scores soaring.

Liang dropped seven bogeys and failed to register a single birdie as a cold putter, coupled with errant driving down the stretch, left him with a battle to make the halfway cut on Friday.

“Overall, I played some decent golf but the problem was my putting,” said Liang.
“On the first hole which I bogeyed, I missed a short par putt. It gave me problems all day and I’m heading to the practice green now to work on it.”

Liang, who won the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit last season with one win and eight top-10s, is presently two shots outside the cut mark and feels he has a fighting chance to qualify for the weekend rounds.

As the par-70 Royal Birkdale bared its teeth with strong winds that blew up to 30 mph and rain in the morning, many of the world’s best players suffered higher scores that Liang.

After further bogeys on the fourth and fifth holes to turn in three-over, Liang steadied the ship to hit seven straight pars, and missed birdie chances at the ninth, 10th and 12th holes. But a wayward drive into the sand trap on 13 was the start of a four-bogey run over his closing six holes.

“I still feel confident with my game. I hope my putting will be better tomorrow. I just didn’t have a good rhythm on the greens. I can see the lines but the rhythm is not there.

“The critical point of playing here is to put the ball on the fairway which I didn’t do in the last few holes,” he said.

Liang, the first Chinese to win the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit, was especially disappointed over the dropped shots on the par five 15th and 17th holes. “On 15, I wanted to hit the green in two and I put a bit more behind the drive and it ended up in the rough. But I still managed to get on the green in regulation, only to three putt there. I then hit a bad drive on 17 which cost me another bogey on the par five,” said Liang.

As the first mainland Chinese to tee up in the year’s third major, Liang said that he was nervous before the start of his round. “I watched the live broadcast this morning and the conditions were really bad. When I teed off in the afternoon, it calmed down a little bit. I hit the fairway on the first hole which calmed down my nerves and although I’ve signed for a 77, I thought I played well overall.”

July 17, 2008