Liang wins Midea China Classic
Liang Wenchong became the OneAsia Tour's first Chinese champion
Sunday, after a three-under-par 68 gave him a 14-under total of 270 and
a four-stroke win in the 500,000-dollar Midea China Classic.
Zhang Lianwei, the 2006 winner and another Guangdong hero, birdied
the par-five 18th to finish 10-under and deliver a Chinese one-two to
the delight of the large galleries at the Royal Orchid International
Golf Club in Shunde.
Australian Peter Wilson birdied the last three holes for a 64 to
share third place on nine-under with European Tour player Matthew Millar
(65) and former New Zealand Open winner Michael Long (68).
Liang, Asia's number one in 2007, stretched his overnight lead with
birdies at holes one, three, eight and 10, while a bogey on the par-five
ninth was only his second dropped shot all week.
"I'm really excited as it's my first win in the Midea and I had a lot
of fans supporting me today," said Liang, whose supporters included his
parents, wife and four-year-old son.
Liang, 31, lifted the 90,000-dollar winner's cheque after becoming
the third Chinese champion in five editions of the tournament following
wins by fellow Guangdong pros Yuan Hao in 2005 and Zhang in 2006.
Liang's wins include the 2007 Singapore Masters and last year's Hero
Honda Indian Open, but he said he was especially proud to win in Shunde
as the Midea China Classic was the country's first major tournament
since golf was voted into the 2016 Olympics.
The 44-year-old Zhang, who shot into contention with a third-round
63, was unable to challenge Liang after starting three strokes behind,
but nailed a birdie putt at the last to ensure he kept the runner-up
cheque of 51,000 dollars all to himself.
The event was OneAsia Tour's third in its first season. Australian
Scott Strange won OneAsia's inaugural event at April's Volvo China Open,
which was co-sanctioned with the European Tour, while Korean Bae
Sang-moon won last month's Kolon-Hana Bank Korea Open.
OneAsia next stages the Australian Open and Australian PGA
Championship in December. OneAsia plans to offer 12-15 events next year
and 17-20 annually from 2011 and beyond.
Leading final-round scores (par 71):
270 - Liang Wenchong (CHN) 69-65-68-68
274 - Zhang Lianwei (CHN) 71-71-63-69
275 - Peter Wilson (AUS) 72-69-70-64, Matthew Millar (AUS)
70-69-71-65, Michael Long (NZL) 69-70-68-68
276 - Brad Andrews (AUS) 71-69-70-66, Kong Weihai (CHN) 72-70-67-67,
Andrew Martin (AUS) 69-65-69-73
277 - Craig Scott (AUS) 65-72-68-73
279 - Anthony Brown (AUS) 69-70-71-69
280 - Tsai Chi-huang (TPE) 69-70-70-71, Stephen Leaney (AUS)
67-69-71-73, Alex Wu Ashun (CHN) 70-69-68-73
281 - Li Chao (CHN) 72-71-71-67
282 - Yu Gyoung-yoon (KOR) 76-69-70-67, Richard Backwell (AUS)
71-70-71-70, C.J. Gatto (USA) 74-71-67-70, Liu Junfeng (CHN) 67-74-69-72
283 - Martin Pettigrew (NZL) 76-69-71-67, Peter Nolan (AUS)
69-72-74-68, Eom Jae-woong (KOR) 74-69-71-69, Park Jun-bum (KOR)
70-66-77-70, Justin Maker (AUS) 72-69-72-70, Kevin Huang Wenyi (CHN - a)
69-68-72-74.
SHUNDE, China, Monday, AFP |
