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China Open: Liang, Pádraig or Sergio?

The European Tour heads for the 2011 Volvo China Open

After having played in Malaga (Spain), Agadir (Morocco) and Kuala Lumpur, the European Tour will be heading for China this month. From April 21-24 they will compete at the 2011 Volvo China Open in Chengdu, situated in the lesser-known South West of China. At the Luxehills International Country Club, we will find out if China’s leading golfer, 32-year-old Liang Wen-chong, will be able to keep this title in China for the first time since the China Open joined the European Tour in 2004.

Wen-chong has won a big tournament before, the 2007 Singapore Masters of the European Tour, and later even donated his prize money of US$183,000 to golf development in China. He is still widely respected for it. In April however, he will have some seriously strong competition to beat as for instance triple Major Champion Pádraig Harrington and Spanish top player Sergio García, both will make their Volvo China Open debut this year.

Dreaming of winning

As Liang Wen-chong told a reporter from the European Tour official website: “Every player from whatever country dreams of winning his national open golf championship and, of course, I am no different. For me, winning the Volvo China Open would be like winning a Major title and my preparations will be geared-up to playing my very best golf at Luxehills. The Volvo China Open has been growing in importance over the past few years, and with a record prize purse of RMB20million (Approx. US$3million), many of the best players in world golf will be attracted to play,” he said. “I welcome Pádraig and Sergio, two great golfers, to my country and open golf championship, and other world-class golfers are welcome too. Because if I am to win my own open championship, I will have to beat the very best in the world.”

Great things

Zhang Xiao-Ning, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the China Golf Association expects great things for Golf in China “The game of Golf in China is already undergoing a remarkable transformation in terms of participation levels and youth development and the Volvo China Open plays a key role in encouraging aspiring young golfers, building media coverage as well as generating a culture of golf-watching, either on TV or on courses here in China.” The 17th Volvo China Open will feature a record prize fund of RMB20million (Approx. US$ 3million), with RMB3.3million (Approx. US$ 500,000) going to the 2011 Volvo China Open winner. The winner also qualifies automatically for the US$ 4.6million Volvo World Match Play Championship, to be held at Finca Cortesín, Spain from 19–22 May 2011.