Zhang hails record Omega China Tour field in Nanjing

BEIJING,April 23 -- Zhang Lianwei, the first Chinese golfer to win

a European Tour event, praised the diverse field at the Nanjing Zhongshan

International Golf Club, saying it reflected the Omega China Tour's growing

status.

An Omega China Tour record of 144 players will compete in this week's 1.2

million RMB Sofitel Zhongshan IGC Open in Nanjing, the richest event on the

circuit since its inauguration in 2005.

The field features players of 14 different nationalities, including 10

Australians from the PGA Tour of Australasia and two Malaysians, two Thais and a

Singaporean from the Mercedes-Benz Tour in Southeast Asia.

Chinese Taipei's Lu Wen-teh and Lu Chien-soon, Hong Kong's WongWoon-man and

Tang Shing-chi, and Macao's Laurence Petryk are the invites, while the 10

foreign PGA members from Qualifying School represent a further six

nationalities.

"There are a lot of foreigners in this field and many have come from far

away. It looks like an Asian Tour or European Tour event," said the 43-year-old,

who has won five times on the Asian Tour and once on the Canadian Tour, and

played in the Masters in 2004.

"The competition on the Omega China Tour is now much stronger and this is

good for the Chinese players. There's more pressure to perform well, which can

be both positive and negative, like two sides of a coin."

Zhang has won six times in 16 appearances on the Omega China Tour, although

not in Nanjing, where he has finished runner-up in the last two editions of the

Sofitel Zhongshan IGC Open. Zhang will play the first two rounds with last

year's champion Liao Guiming and 2007 winner Wu Kangchun.

"I'll do my best again to win this trophy. Last year I had a good chance to

win, but lost in a play-off to 'Lao Liao', who was a deserving winner," he said.

Liao's victory in last year's event was the first of his professional

career and followed 10 top-10 finishes on the Omega China Tour. Liao went on to

win his first Omega Order of Merit, pipping Zhang to the crown, and is happy to

be back at Nanjing Zhongshan.

"Winning the Sofitel event was a dream come true and very important for my

career. After I won in Nanjing, I continued to play well and I was rewarded for

that by becoming only the third player to win the Omega Order of Merit," said

Liao, who also finished runner-up in events in Shanghai and Chengdu.

"I'm very confident in my game and I'm looking to do well this week.

Zhongshan is a beautiful course and my aim is to get a better score than last

year," added the 31-year-old, who posted a 10-under total of 278 last May.

This year the Gary Player layout could prove more challenging for the

field, according to Nelson Jia, General Manager of Nanjing Zhongshan

International Golf Club.

"We planted more trees over the winter, which could come into play for some

of the tee-shots, and the greens could be difficult for a few of the players

this week," Jia said. "Overall, the course condition is great. We believe it's

up to European Tour standard."

The Sofitel Zhongshan IGC Open is the Tour's first title-sponsored

tournament to have been staged in the same venue for three successive years.

Kevin Qin, General Manager of Sofitel Zhongshan Golf Resort Nanjing, said

Sofitel's ongoing sponsorship reflected the bodies' similar ambitions.

"Sofitel has sponsored the Nanjing tournament and the Omega China Tour for

three years because golf and luxury hotels have similar clients," Qin said.

"China is a very important market for Sofitel and our brand recognition across

the country has grown hand in hand with the Tour."

The first three events of this year's Omega China Tour boast a combined

purse of 3.2 million RMB, representing a large surge in prize money for the

domestic circuit.

"The 144 players and 1.2 million RMB purse are both records for the 28

events we've staged since 2005," said Wang Liwei, Deputy Director General of the

Multi-Ball Games Administrative Center of General Administration of Sport, the

umbrella body for the China Golf Association.

"In that time, we've seen the Tour grow up and expand, and the size of the

field is now the same as in international events. Although it has been a

difficult time economically, the Omega China Tour is still growing and once we

get through this tough time, we have a very bright future ahead."

The Sofitel Zhongshan IGC Open is the third edition of the Nanjing event

formerly known as the Sofitel Golf Championship. The new name reflects the

increased involvement of Nanjing Zhongshan International Golf Club, which is

hosting the event for the third successive year.