Venetian Macau Open | Liang Wen-chong vows for victory in Macau

China’s leading golf star Liang Wen-chong promised to return to the region’s professional golf tournament to be held next month, challenging himself against other world-ranking golfers from overseas.
Equipped for the Venetian Macao Open slated between October 15 to 18, Liang believes that, after his first-ever victory in the Japan Golf Tour Championship in early June, he could bring home a trophy in his third attempt to the championship.
“Of course I want to win it out in Macau because I’m rather familiar with the course after competing many times there,” he said. “Besides, I have so many friends there supporting  me. That’s my goal,” the 37-year-old father-of-two told media representatives through a telephone interview on Wednesday.
After years of pursuing various games to elevate himself in the world league table, Liang, currently in Japan for the Asia-Pacific Golf Championship Diamond Cup Golf next week, acknowledged that this year was a time to slow his pace a little in order to better brace himself for other tournaments ahead.
“Joining more competitions isn’t a shortcut to the goal, instead, aiming for more quality and better performance is more important,” he said, stressing “scientific adjustment and planning” lead to optimal performance on the fairway.
“Although I didn’t join many contests this year, that was to better adjust myself to bring out better performance in the following contests,” he added.
The golfer is the only player from the mainland who ever made it into the top 100 slots in the Official World Golf Ranking. As of September 20, he was ranked 222nd, lower than another two burgeoning mainland golfers Wu Ashun and Li Haotong who fall in 176th place and 188th place respectively.
However, world ranking seemed much less vital to the professional golfer, who only sought to enrich his professional journey while further horning his golfing skills along the way. With less than a year to fight for a seat in the Rio 2016 Olympics, Liang displayed yet no rush in gaining his qualification as he said that “there was still some time.”
Nestled in the southeastern part of Coloane, Macau Golf and Country Club’s course is known for its no.17 hole, a par-3 overlooking almost half of the venue. It also appeared in Liang’s mind when asked about which part of the course he has competed in is the most memorable to him. Besides, he also recalled how some golfers turned around the game at the no.18 hole during the past competitions.
The region saw a child-oriented training program hosted by the golfer and his club last month. Liang said the week-long event aimed to “bring local kids away from computers and smartphones and into a natural environment” where they could relish the wholesome sports.
“Through the training programs, we wished to try our best to discover more potential talents for the golfing scene,” he said. “I also hope that there will be more time, more opportunities, or even more organizations to promote the sport and to involve more children in it.”
Joining the mainland’s golfing scene at the age of 15, Liang witnessed a large portion of its development and the birth of many other current rising sportsmen. He acknowledged that there was “a certain margin” between domestic golfers and those from abroad in terms of skills.
However, he was confident that more Chinese young golfers would ascend to the world league table in the near future under the China Golf Association’s efforts. “Only if more Chinese golfers enter the world ranking could it reflect the nation’s level,” said he.
The seasoned golfer also wished other young professional golfers to bear in mind that there is always something more significant than scores.
“As a professional golfer, you don’t only represent yourself but the whole nation’s image for golfing,” he said. “Asides from scores, I hope the younger generations of golfers could get a better grasp of the sporting culture that leads them to pleasure.”