Liang carries Asiad torch ahead of Midea China Classic
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Liang Wenchong will carry the Asian Games torch during its relay run through Guangdong on Wednesday, the day before he begins his title defence at the US$1 million Midea China Classic, OneAsia's eighth event of the year.
Liang will head to his native Zhongshan where he will run with the Asian Games torch in the morning before returning to Shunde, an hour's drive away, where he tees off the following day at Royal Orchid International Golf Club.
"As a golfer, I feel so honoured to be chosen as an Asian Games torchbearer, especially in Zhongshan, my hometown. Zhongshan was where China's first golf course was built (at Zhongshan Hot Spring Golf Club) and has been an important part of Chinese golf," said Liang, the world number 65.
"I hope my participation in the torch relay will help more people in China know about golf and support golf. I hope more schools can offer golf lessons and make more children interested in the game."
The Asian Games will be held in Guangzhou next month, although the golf competition is for amateurs.
Liang sits second in the OneAsia Order of Merit after wins in the season-opening Luxehills Chengdu Open in China and the Thailand Open. The 32-year-old, eighth at the PGA Championship in August, will be both a tournament and fan favourite as he defends his Midea crown in front of loyal Guangdong galleries.
"My goal before was to win the OneAsia Order of Merit so I'll try my best this week, but winning is never easy. Luck is also important."
Former PGA Tour regular Stephen Allan will be among the challengers as he seeks to win his first OneAsia title after a series of consistent displays this year, highlighted by top-10 finishes at Luxehills and the GS Caltex Maekyung Open in Korea.
"I've been playing nearly well, so now I want to play really well," said the Arizona-based 37-year-old, who played on the PGA Tour for most of the past decade and was formerly a winner on the European Tour.
"I've only practised on the front nine so far, but it looks like it's a fairly tight course with pretty high, thick rough. It gives everyone a chance and will reward the guys who are playing best. You'll need to keep it in play, which doesn't always suit me depending on my form!"
Scott Arnold, 25, is also part of a strong Australian challenge at Royal Orchid. The former world number one amateur is hoping for another good finish on OneAsia after missing the cut at last week's Kolon Korea Open.
"My game's all right. I just had three bad holes last week, so hopefully I can turn it around this week," said Manchester-based Arnold, who finished third at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open and seventh at Luxehills.
Korean Kim Do-hoon is another player happy to be back in China, where he finished third at Luxehills and was the second-round leader at the US$2.5 million Volvo China Open, eventually finishing in a tie for eighth.
"China is lucky for me," said Kim, who won his first pro title at the Korean Tour's Tomato Bank Open in April.
"I'm playing well again, although I didn't do too well last week because my driver was off. I've played well in China in the past, so I think I can do well here again."
The Midea China Classic is the eighth of 10 OneAsia events in the circuit's second season. The tournament purse has doubled to US$1 million on the OneAsia platform due to the continued sponsorship support from the Midea Group for the sixth consecutive year.
The Midea China Classic will be showcased on OneAsia's television platform with live coverage for four hours a day across all four tournament days, and broadcast to over 260 million homes in more than 40 countries.
Full coverage of the event is available internationally on ESPN Star Sports, Jupiter Golf Network, SBS Golf Channel, Fox International, Network Ten, Sky Sports NZ, ESPN3 and America One in the USA, ViaSat and Bloomberg Television among others in Europe.
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