Huang anticipates trouble at tour finale
Legendary kung fu film star and director Samo Hung Kam-po and pop singer Richie Jen Hsien-chi provided the glamour while the difficulty of the course created the clamour on the eve of the Omega China Tour's grand finale - the 2006 Omega Championship.
Hung joined Jen and China's leading players, Liang Wenchong and Zhang Lianwei, for a ceremonial tee-off at Beijing's Tianan Golf Club.
'I can do a lot of action movies for my living but over the past seven years I realised the golf swing is far harder than my back flips,' said the acrobatic 56-year-old Hung. 'If I had a chance to start all over again I'd rather be a golfer than an action movie star. I always wanted to play with the top guys like Zhang Lianwei and Liang Wenchong.'
Tournament director Charles Kuo Tsung-tai said the conditions were as tough as anything he had seen at the US Open or the Players Championship at Sawgrass.
Huang Mingjie, the 25-year-old who has been the revelation of the 2006 season and is third on the order of merit, said the greens were trouble. 'They are very, very firm. It's very difficult to stop the ball. It's just like the US PGA Tour. Trouble and more trouble,' Huang said.
'We really do feel like we're playing on the American circuit. Downhill, if you touch the ball really gently it will run for 10 yards. This is the most difficult course since the tour started. It's a great challenge for the players. It combines all the difficult aspects of all the other courses; long rough like the Shandong leg and fast greens - even faster than the Zhuhai leg. Believe me the greens are faster than Zhuhai or Shandong. But it's good to learn.'
Zhang leads the order of merit, with his only threat being Li Chao, who won the title last year. Japan-based Liang has played only once on the tour this season, winning the Hainan leg in April.
