Scott Hend brushed off a suggestion he might be contemplating a little payback as play turns for home in the US$1 million Venetian Macao Open golf tournament with the Australian holding a three-stroke lead over rival Anirban Lahiri.

Taiwan's Hung Chien-yao said he had silenced his inner demons before coming to the US$1 million Venetian Macao Open and the results were there for all to see as he took a one-stroke lead at the halfway point of the event thanks to a seven-under second round of 64 that left him at 10 under par.

There was a quick head scratch and a sigh as Thailand's Thitiphun Chuayprakong contemplated what might have been and looked back over the first round of the US$1 million Venetian Macao Open.

India's Anirban Lahiri and Australian Scott Hend have a rivalry that has lit up the US$1 million Venetian Macau Open over the past two years. And it turns out they have developed a close friendship over the same time, too.

Asian Tour Order of Merit golf leader Anirban Lahiri says it's a simple case of getting back on the horse - or the course as the case may be - as he moves on from Sunday's final-hole drama at the Presidents Cup in South Korea.

Seventeen-year-old sensation Jin Cheng admits his feet have hardly touched the ground since he won his way into the field for next year's Masters thanks to his victory at last week's Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship.

China’s two most decorated stars, Zhang Lianwei and Liang Wenchong, will return to the US$1 million Venetian Macao Open next month and attempt to bring the coveted trophy back to China for the first time in more than a decade.

Having quickly made a name for himself on the Canadian tour, Taiwan’s Pan Cheng-tsung will test himself against the best in Asia at the US$1 million Venetian Macao Open next month.

The memory is still fresh for Scott Hend, and so is the pain. For one fleeting second on the final hole of last year's Venetian Macao Open, the Australian thought his putt was going to fall for a par, thereby forcing a play-off with Indian Anirban Lahiri, and that his dream of a repeat win in the event would remain alive.

Anirban Lahiri notched up India’s best-ever result at a major championship by finishing tied fifth at the PGA Championship on Sunday, leaving him in no doubt he belonged at golf’s top table with the game’s current crop of rising stars.

Asian Tour Order of Merit leader Anirban Lahiri will be back to defend his Venetian Macao Open title in October, after last year’s win sparked a remarkable surge in his game