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Liang looks to Asian stars for psychological edge
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-11 09:56

Liang Wenchong has already stepped out from under the shadow of Chinese golf pioneer Zhang Lianwei and been crowned the king of Asia. Now he wants to work on his mental game and get more European titles under his belt.

"I'm still getting better. I'm still learning," said the 30-year-old, who won the Order of Merit in 2007. "I want to improve every aspect of my game and I will work hard to achieve this."

While his form is solid, on-course distractions remain a threat. He said he has begun paying more attention to mind over matter to take his game to the next level.

"You have to get your mind to trust your game when you are fighting on the golf course. It's let me down before and I want to minimize this."

Liang is regarded as one of Asia's leading stars but he believes he has not yet peaked, a claim he hopes to back up on his 2009 Asian Tour debut at this week's Maybank Malaysian Open.

While he idolizes Zhang, his playing partner at last year's World Cup of Golf in Shenzhen, Liang is looking at the recent success of India's Jeev Milkha Singh and Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand as a model to help him attain more glory.

Liang acknowledged that his focus has let him down in the past. Better concentration, especially in the heat of battle, will be the key to improvement, he said.

"Jeev does his yoga regularly and Prayad meditates, and you can see that it has helped them immensely. I'm also trying to do more yoga these days to see if it can help me focus better," he said.

Liang's plan for the new season will see him splitting his time between the burgeoning Asian Tour and Europe. The Chinese ace, who has a European title from the co-sanctioned Singapore Masters in 2007, is keen to prove himself further in Europe but knows he is still on a learning curve when it comes to playing on the continent.

"I'll be speaking to a lot of players like Thongchai Jaidee and Jyoti Randhawa to get their opinions on which events and golf courses I should be playing on this year," he said.

"I will certainly maintain my presence on the Asian Tour as it is due to the Asian Tour that I have become what I am today. Through my win on the Order of Merit, I received my invitation to the US Masters and British Open last year and I am grateful for this," he added.

Liang joins a strong line-up of Asian Tour stars who will compete at Saujana Golf and Country Club for the second Asian Tour event of 2009.

Other top Asian Tour names who will bid for glory this week include double Malaysian Open winner Thongchai, former Asian No 1 Thaworn Wiratchant, Australia's David Gleeson, Singaporean Lam Chih Bing, Korea's Noh Seung-yul, Angelo Que of the Philippines and India's Jyoti Randhawa.

China Daily