Chinese ace Liang Wenchong swept the major awards at the UBS
Awards Gala on Sunday night as he put the icing on the cake of a
fantastic 2007 season.
Liang Wenchong of China
poses with his awards for the UBS Order of Merit, the Lowest Stroke
Average and the Players' Player of the Year at the Asian Tour
awards presentation gala at a hotel in Bangkok on Sunday. [Photo:
Sina.com]
During a week in which he became the first player from China to
claim the Asian Tour's prestigious UBS Order of Merit crown, the
29-year-old was also voted the Players' Player of the Year for his
sterling season, which included one victory and eight other top-10
finishes.
Winning the top three awards capped a remarkable journey for the
Zhongshan-based Liang, who burst onto the professional scene in
1999 before gradually rising to the top of the Asian summit.
"This week puts a wonderful period to a wonderful season for me.
I am honored to become the UBS Order of Merit winner. This is one
day that I will always remember," said Liang, who replaces India's
Jeev Milkha Singh as Asia's No 1.
Liang claimed his first victory at the Clariden Leu Singapore
Masters in March before reeling off many other top finishes and
finally blowing past Chapchai in a thrilling battle for the Merit
crown. Liang ended the season with a haul of $532,590, beating his
Thai rival by $90,265.
Liang thanked compatriot and mentor Zhang Lianwei, who presented
Liang with the Player of the Year award, the Asian Tour and his
home club, Zhongshan Hot Spring Golf Club, which first put a golf
club in his hands when he was 16.
Liang (L) receives the the
Player of the Year award from his compatriot and mentor Zhang
Lianwei. [Photo: Sina.com]
"I'd like to share this moment with my family and everybody who
is here," Liang said. "These past few years have seen the Asian
Tour continue to grow and expand, while tournaments are becoming
better and better.
"The Asian Tour has not only provided Asian players with a
platform to perform, but also a venue for international players to
play. This has helped us improve and has also given us the
opportunity to grow and become more experienced.
"I have always believed that to succeed in golf, we have to be
hardworking and give it 100 percent. This has helped me a lot. The
Asian Tour has helped me to grow as a player and I'm sure the Tour
will continue to grow and become stronger every day."
With the Order of Merit triumph, Liang earned a coveted spot in
next year's British Open where he will become the first Chinese to
play in the world's oldest major. He will be joined by Chapchai and
third-placed Anton Haig in the lucrative WGC-CA Championship in the
US.
"The opportunity to play the British Open is great. But not only
that - this title will open a lot of doors, including more
invitations to play on the US PGA Tour," Liang said.
Filipino veteran Frankie Minoza picked up the other big award of
the night when he was voted the winner of the UBS Special
Achievement Award for an outstanding season in which he won once on
both the Asian Tour and the Japan Golf Tour.
"I'm truly honored. I hope I can win this again next year," said
Minoza.
The Rookie of the Year award went to Australian Scott Hend, who
finished fourth in the UBS Order of Merit with five top-10
finishes, including two runners-up at the Pakistan Open and the
Volvo China Open.
The former US PGA Tour regular, who delighted spectators with
his power game, competed in Asia for the first time after
recovering from a hand injury, which curtailed his career in the
US.
Asia's players picked Sentosa Golf Club's Serapong Course as the
Host Venue of the Year for the second successive season. The highly
touted Serapong course was revamped for the $4 million Barclays
Singapore Open, Asia's richest national Open, in November.
Chapchai earned bragging rights as the Birdie Leader for the
2007 season by amassing a total of 306 "birds", five more than
compatriot Thaworn Wiratchant, while Scotsman Simon Yates won the
Greens in Regulation category with a 72 percent hit rate.
Thailand's Prayad Marksaeng, winner of Sunday's season-ending
Volvo Masters of Asia, was the king of putting, winning the Lowest
Putting Average award with 1.737 putts per green in regulation.
(China Daily December 11, 2007)
