Cao has confidence in 'secret' strategy

GUILIN, Guangxi - China's Cao Yi hopes a "secret" strategy can help him rediscover his winning form at this week's 1.5 million yuan ($235,000) Guilin Championship.

The fifth event on this year's PGA Tour Series-China marks the first professional golf tournament in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The 27-year-old Cao is fourth on the Tour's order of merit due in large part to his playoff victory over England's William Harrold at the Chongqing Championship in March, but has otherwise had an inconsistent season.

He began with a tie for 40th at the season-opening Chengdu Championship and last month missed the cut in Changsha, Hunan province, before tying for 45th in Haikou on Hainan Island.

But Cao appeared confident at a media conference with order-of-merit leader Charlie Saxon, the winner in Changsha in May, and even hinted at a positive - but private - development in his game after praising the Guilin Landscape Golf Club, which opened in 1996 and was the first golf club in Guangxi.

"I had a pretty good practice round. The course is good and it's in really good shape, so I'm really looking forward to it," said Cao, who played with English duo Callum Tarren and Michael Skelton for the first two days.

"I have a secret for this tournament - if I play well and it works, I'll tell you after the tournament."

Cao is the top-ranked Chinese on the order of merit and remains firmly focused on finishing in the top five and securing a place on the Web.com Tour - following in the footsteps of compatriots Li Haotong and current PGA Tour players 'Marty' Dou Zecheng and Zhang Xinjun.

"Every event is really important for me on this tour because each dollar counts on the order of merit," he said.