Liang the top finisher among the mainland's players
China can be proud of its players after their performances this week, China number two Liang Wenchong said yesterday. And no one was prouder than Liang himself after a five-under 67 gave him a two-under 286 total and 15th place. 'China's players have done really well. Four players made the cut and you have to be happy with that. Remember this is a European Tour event for the first time,' he said.
Liang, 26, finished five strokes ahead of his mentor, friend and idol Zhang Lianwei, who never mounted a challenge in his title defence. He finished with a level-par 72 for a three-over total of 291. China's other representatives, Shang Lei and Huang Mingjie, finished 12 over and 15 over respectively.
Liang said he was 'happy' to finish in front of Zhang and believed he could have gone lower as he hadn't had a lot of luck on the last two holes. 'I knew I couldn't be up there with the leaders so I was very relaxed. I tried to treat it as just another tournament.'
Liang will go into this week's Omega Hong Kong Open with plenty of confidence. 'My driving was really good and so was my iron play,' said Liang, who will play mostly on the Japanese Tour next season. 'And I have good memories of Hong Kong as I finished in the top 10 a few years ago.'
He will call on his elder brother to carry his bag for him at Fanling as his caddie from the weekend, Shanghai International Golf Club professional Lui Xin, cannot get a visa in time.
Zhang left the 18th green a disappointed man yesterday - in stark contrast to year ago when he embraced his wife and the tournament trophy. But he was buoyed by Liang's performance, along with the rest of the mainland players. 'It shows we are improving and developing,' said the 39-year-old Zhang. 'And Liang's effort did not surprise me as he always finishes strongly like he has in Japan,' Zhang added.
'My week was like the stock market - up and down. The first day was pretty good - a 69 - but I putted badly in the last three rounds.'
Zhang will put his sore hip through one more ordeal - in Hong Kong - and will most likely head home to Shenzhen for a rest.
