Golf Events / Editor / 13 March 2007 /

Wen-Chong Liang is expected to receive a rapturous reception in front of his home crowd when he lines up at this week's TCL Classic in China.

Liang became only the second Chinese man in history behind Zhang Lian-Wei to win an event on the European Tour last weekend when he beat Malaysia's Iain Steel in a play-off to win the Singapore Masters.

While those around him were cracking under the final round pressure, including the English pair of Nick Dougherty and Simon Dyson, the 29-year-old held his game together best of all to triumph.

And Chinese number one Liang is a leading contender to complete a quick-fire double this week on home soil, where he is available to back at 21 to win and 4.7 to finish in the top five.

Despite throwing away the chance of victory in Singapore, Dougherty heads the early betting and is trading at 9 to win, ahead of Lee Westwood who is on offer at 14.

Westwood's European Ryder Cup teammate Paul McGinley can be backed at 17, Australian Terry Pilkadaris is fancied to do well at odds of 26 and Indian Shiv Kapur and Thailand's Thaworn Wiratchant are available at 34 and 36 respectively.

The course at Yalong Bay Golf Club in Sanya has yielded plenty of birdies in the two years that the TCL Classic has been held there - Sweden's Johan Edfors winning last year with a score of 25-under-par.

More of the same can be expected this year with players in the field able to reel off a string of birdies likely to challenge strongly, although whether Edfors' winning score will be equalled remains to be seen.

While the par-72 course may not be long by modern-day standards at 7,173 yards, changes have been made in the intervening 12 months to try to make the lay-out play tougher.

With the rough having been grown, there will be an added onus on finding the fairway off the tee this week, while changes to the final four holes will ensure a tougher finish for the field.

Dougherty certainly falls into the category of being able to produce a series of birdies, and he will be desperate to do well in China to erase the memory of last weekend's late collapse in Singapore.

Two double bogeys in his final three holes cost him dear after he had fought his way to the front from a seemingly impossible position and it is something the 24-year-old Englishman will want to put behind him as soon as possible.

Dougherty has fond memories of Sanya though, having finished fourth here last year, just three strokes adrift of Edfors, and is available at 3.45 to place in the first five.

Westwood is trading at 4.1 to come in the top five and could be a good bet having won in Asia before, while McGinley is also anxious to do well - but for very different reasons.

Two years ago, the genial Irishman thought he had his fifth European Tour title in his grasp after a storming round of 63 on the final day - only for Paul Casey to draw level and then beat him at the second extra hole.

The memory of the defeat is still fresh in McGinley's mind but he arrives in China this week knowing that there will be no Casey, or the defending champion, to contend with.

McGinley finished joint 16th last year and, while he has had a quiet start to 2007, he has made the cut in the four tournaments he has played. He is available at 4.2 to come in the top five.

Kapur, Pilkadaris and Wiratchant will all have their followers this week after showing good early season form and can be backed at 7.6, 6.6 and 8.6 respectively to place in the first five.

It will be fascinating to see how Steel reacts following his play-off defeat to Liang in Singapore where he, too, wasted a great opportunity to record his first European Tour success.

The Malaysian with Scottish roots, who is trading at 55 to win, is arguably the form player coming into this week having finished in the top ten in the last two tournaments, but it is not yet known what effect last week's drama will have on his game.

Oliver Fisher will take another step in golfing education in China and it would be no surprise to see the teenager achieve a new career high this week and claim his first top-five finish - where he is trading at 9 while he is on offer at 42 to win.

And backers should also take into consideration the performances of Prayad Marksaeng and Gaurev Ghei at this tournament when making their final selections.

Marksaeng, priced at 40 to top the field, impressed many observers last year when he pushed Edfors all the way before finally settling for third place while Ghei, trading at 65 to win, finished just two shots and two places lower.

The Indian has showed prominently in several events so far this year and is sure to be a popular selection, while the Chinese crowd will be willing their former number one player Zhang (85 to win) to do well in his homeland.

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