The dragon slayer

Those who watched Liang Wen-chong win the Indian Open recently can take heart. You don’t have to look pretty to win. At least not when you are swinging a golf club. Quite at home in a martial arts flick but unconventional on a golf course, you would say. The way Liang heaved his club and then lunged forward to slay the dragon before wrapping the iron rod around his shoulders. But hey, as long as it gets the job done, and in golf that means dunking that little fella at the bottom of the cup in the minimum number of tries. Liang has been doing that quite successfully over the past couple of years.

The man from China tied up with Kel Llewellyn a few seasons ago and they have a good thing going. The Aussie coach has taken care not to strip down Liang’s swing but to work around what he has. So even though he may look ungainly or unconventional, Liang has obviously got the golf ball to behave the way he wants it to. How else would you explain somebody going around in 60 on a golf course as treacherous as the Delhi Golf Club (DGC) where the word “rough” means just that. No harmless tufts of grass here. Getting into the thick stuff at the DGC means you can consider yourself lucky if you don’t get your fancy “dri-fit” T-shirt shredded or your bare arms cut up into red welts by the thorny shrubbery. It can get rougher. The DGC is also home to a fairly healthy population of wildlife which comes in the form of fanged reptiles and big-horned deer, among other things.

Anyway, the point is that Liang went around in 12-under par 60 on the opening day, which is the lowest score shot on the Asian Tour. The guy made eight birdies on the front nine and he three-putted the 18th. Two taps there would have given him a 59, the lowest number ever in professional golf. Not bad for a dragon slayer. The golf swing is one thing, but Liang backs that up with two crucial ingredients. He believes that hard work pays off and he’s one tough nut—physically and between the ears. Both these aspects were witnessed at the DGC.

Vijay Singh is said to be the grinder in golf but the word now is that Liang works up as much sweat, if not a couple of ounces more. It was an exceptionally warm Indian Open this time and after a hard day’s play, Liang would be beating golf balls on the range and working on his putting late into the evening. Llewellyn, at times, would have to drag him away.

The head bit was there for all to see over the closing stages of the tournament. After he saw his lead vanish with a double bogey on the 16th, Liang came up with a birdie-birdie finish under pressure. While the man himself was fairly impassive, his Indian caddy and Noida golfer Dipankar Kaushal chewed away furiously on his gum and Llewellyn looked like he might pop a nerve. “I’m getting a little old for this,” sighed the Aussie.

Oh, yes. Liang also does yoga. Isn’t that a saviour these days?

Prabhdev Singh is Editor, Golf Digest India