China enjoyed its best-ever finish in the Omega Mission Hills World Cup on Sunday, and trailblazers Zhang Lianwei and Liang Wenchong are convinced they can someday win the team event, which is considered the "Olympics of Golf".

 

The Chinese duo combined for a final-round four-under-par 68 at Mission Hills Golf Club and finished the four-day event tied for 11th place with South Korea's Lee Sung and Lee Seung-ho at 17-under-par 271, eight strokes behind winner Scotland.

 

China and South Korea were the two best Asian teams in the 28-team competition, which will be held in Mission Hills for the next 12 years.

 

"This is a really good tournament and I think we will play even better next year because throughout these four rounds, I think we are strong and the best team was playing for China," said Zhang, whose previous best finish with Liang came at the 2001 World Cup in Japan where they tied for 17th.

 

Liang was making only his second World Cup appearance with Zhang, but the future looks bright for the pair. And with the event set to remain in China, he knows they will have another chance to lift the Omega World Cup title.

 

"We really did our best. Players make mistakes and we did well in this round. I think the things that we've been doing today are the best that we can do, and throughout this tournament, I did learn a lot of things," said Liang, who is also leading the Asian Tour's UBS Order of Merit.

 

"We are really happy with where we finished. Six birdies today were exactly the same as we had in the second round. We coordinated pretty well and are happy with the result," he said.

 

With age catching up to him, the 42-year-old Zhang knows he will not be anchoring the team forever and hopes that the World Cup, which attracted large and enthusiastic galleries this year, will speed up the growth of the game in China and unearth new stars.

 

"I'm really glad that I have this partner (Liang) and this result is the best ever. I'm 42, and I consider myself a strong player, but I don't think I can play another 12 years," said Zhang.

 

(China Daily November 28, 2007)