Big hitter

Hend's views were echoed by John Daly, a big-hitting American whose colorful personality has made him a popular figure with golf fans across the world.

"It would be nice to see a World Golf (Championship) event here. They move them around so much. One of them anyway, they ought to let China have it," the two-time Major winner told China Daily ahead of his practice round yesterday.

Daly said he was looking forward to playing at Pine Valley after his disappointing showing last weekend at Tomson Pudong Golf Club in Shanghai, where he missed the cut: "Shanghai was nice, but this is a better golf course. The fairways there ran out at about 260 yards, (here) you can hit drivers a lot."

But it will be Liang who will be feeling under the most pressure to win in front of his home crowd, especially after failing to make the Top 30 in his last two tournaments.

"For the last two weeks alone, I was not in good form. But you play lots of tournaments on the Tour in the year and you have good weeks and bad weeks," he said.

"I am still satisfied with my play because I made the cut both times and enjoyed the competition. If you don't make the cut, your play and psychology might be affected.

"I want to play well. The field is very strong, everybody wants to win. But I will try my best."

The Pine Valley Beijing Open is co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the China Golf Association. A total of 156 players will compete for the $500,000 purse.