Chinese ace Liang Wenchong swept the major awards at the UBS Awards Gala on Sunday night as he put the icing on the cake of a fantastic 2007 season.

Liang Wenchong of China poses with his awards for the UBS Order of Merit, the Lowest Stroke Average and the Players' Player of the Year at the Asian Tour awards presentation gala at a hotel in Bangkok on Sunday. [Photo: Sina.com]

During a week in which he became the first player from China to claim the Asian Tour's prestigious UBS Order of Merit crown, the 29-year-old was also voted the Players' Player of the Year for his sterling season, which included one victory and eight other top-10 finishes.

Winning the top three awards capped a remarkable journey for the Zhongshan-based Liang, who burst onto the professional scene in 1999 before gradually rising to the top of the Asian summit.

"This week puts a wonderful period to a wonderful season for me. I am honored to become the UBS Order of Merit winner. This is one day that I will always remember," said Liang, who replaces India's Jeev Milkha Singh as Asia's No 1.

Liang claimed his first victory at the Clariden Leu Singapore Masters in March before reeling off many other top finishes and finally blowing past Chapchai in a thrilling battle for the Merit crown. Liang ended the season with a haul of $532,590, beating his Thai rival by $90,265.

Liang thanked compatriot and mentor Zhang Lianwei, who presented Liang with the Player of the Year award, the Asian Tour and his home club, Zhongshan Hot Spring Golf Club, which first put a golf club in his hands when he was 16.

Liang (L) receives the the Player of the Year award from his compatriot and mentor Zhang Lianwei. [Photo: Sina.com]

"I'd like to share this moment with my family and everybody who is here," Liang said. "These past few years have seen the Asian Tour continue to grow and expand, while tournaments are becoming better and better.

"The Asian Tour has not only provided Asian players with a platform to perform, but also a venue for international players to play. This has helped us improve and has also given us the opportunity to grow and become more experienced.

"I have always believed that to succeed in golf, we have to be hardworking and give it 100 percent. This has helped me a lot. The Asian Tour has helped me to grow as a player and I'm sure the Tour will continue to grow and become stronger every day."

With the Order of Merit triumph, Liang earned a coveted spot in next year's British Open where he will become the first Chinese to play in the world's oldest major. He will be joined by Chapchai and third-placed Anton Haig in the lucrative WGC-CA Championship in the US.

"The opportunity to play the British Open is great. But not only that - this title will open a lot of doors, including more invitations to play on the US PGA Tour," Liang said.

Filipino veteran Frankie Minoza picked up the other big award of the night when he was voted the winner of the UBS Special Achievement Award for an outstanding season in which he won once on both the Asian Tour and the Japan Golf Tour.

"I'm truly honored. I hope I can win this again next year," said Minoza.

The Rookie of the Year award went to Australian Scott Hend, who finished fourth in the UBS Order of Merit with five top-10 finishes, including two runners-up at the Pakistan Open and the Volvo China Open.

The former US PGA Tour regular, who delighted spectators with his power game, competed in Asia for the first time after recovering from a hand injury, which curtailed his career in the US.

Asia's players picked Sentosa Golf Club's Serapong Course as the Host Venue of the Year for the second successive season. The highly touted Serapong course was revamped for the $4 million Barclays Singapore Open, Asia's richest national Open, in November.

Chapchai earned bragging rights as the Birdie Leader for the 2007 season by amassing a total of 306 "birds", five more than compatriot Thaworn Wiratchant, while Scotsman Simon Yates won the Greens in Regulation category with a 72 percent hit rate.

Thailand's Prayad Marksaeng, winner of Sunday's season-ending Volvo Masters of Asia, was the king of putting, winning the Lowest Putting Average award with 1.737 putts per green in regulation.

(China Daily December 11, 2007)