HONG KONG (18 May, 2012) – Eighteen-year-old Liu, a former Hong Kong amateur champion, joined the paid ranks last September after helping to guide the SAR to second place at the Southeast Asian Amateur Golf Team Championship – the Putra Cup. Notching a succession of steady if unspectacular results on the developmental tours of Asia and Europe in the months since, Liu says his spirits have been lifted with a return home.
"It's going to be great to play in Hong Kong again," said Liu, who spent the early part of the year practicing and competing in Germany and Spain. "Playing in Europe has been a wonderful experience – I've learned a lot about myself and my game – but it's also nice to be back for a while and play on courses that I am very familiar with."
At last year's Ageas HKPGA Championship, Liu, then an amateur, put in a stellar showing by opening with a 66 before finishing in a tie for fifth behind eventual champion Jean Van de Velde. That performance, combined with an improvement in his driving accuracy, means his confidence levels are high.
"I'm really feeling good about my game - it's sharp" said the long-hitting Liu, who is managed by legendary Hong Kong entertainment industry agent Paco Wong Pak-go. "I was the best amateur in the tournament on by debut and although the field is looking very strong this year, my goal is to win. It would be fantastic to get my first professional victory in Hong Kong."
As Liu points out, he'll face quality opposition in his quest for that maiden success. The 54-hole tournament, which begins on Monday and boasts a prize purse of HK$400,000, welcomes back 1990 US PGA Championship winner Wayne Grady for a third consecutive year, while Asian Tour regulars Lam Chih Bing of Singapore and Korean-born Australian Unho Park have bolstered a field that also includes 2010 champion CJ Gatto and 2011 Ageas Hong Kong PGA Order of Merit winner Jimmy Ko Ming-chak. Van de Velde is unable to defend his title because of business commitments in France.