Yuan Hao believes next month's RMB1 million Luxehills Golf Championship in Chengdu offers the big-hitter an ideal opportunity to shed his 'nearly man' tag on the Omega China Tour.
Yuan's third-place finish at the inaugural Luxehills event last September was yet another 'close but no cigar' campaign for the Guangzhou-based pro, who blasted into the first-round lead with a six-under 66 and on the final day was within one stroke of Tsai Chi-huang with four holes left.
However, three straight bogeys later and another opportunity was gone, with Tsai winning with a Tour-record 18-under total at the Luxehills International Country Club, which hosts this year's event from June 11-14.
The pattern repeated itself in last month's Sofitel Golf Championship in Nanjing. Yuan was tied for the lead with Zhang Lianwei during the third round before an error-strewn triple at the par-five 11th and three-putt bogeys on his last two holes saw him drop out of contention, the 29-year-old eventually finishing fifth.
Yuan Hao's name may be a familiar one on leaderboards, but not on trophies.
"I definitely want to win, but I always make mistakes on the key holes, especially in the third or fourth round, or the last three or four holes. I rush things, I can't calm down," says Yuan, the circuit's birdie leader last year and regarded as the longest hitter among Chinese pros.
"At Luxehills, I was in the final flight with Tsai and Zhang Xinjun in the third round, then came close on the last day. I played in a leading group again and had another chance, but lost again. I felt the pressure."
Much like Colin Montgomerie's reputation as the best player not to have won a Major, Yuan is arguably the best active Chinese pro without a win on the Omega China Tour.
No one on the circuit has come so close, so often, without winning. He has finished in the top-five a remarkable nine times, notching up 14 top-10s in 27 appearances. But just as others expect him to crumble when the finishing line comes into sight, so does he.
Outside the circuit, Yuan has experienced victory, having beaten Zhang Lianwei in a play-off for the Royal Orchid China Classic in his native Guangdong in October 2005. So, why has the man who can make the game look so easy, made it so hard for himself over the past four years?
"I've led tournaments many times, but I've missed becoming a champion time and time again. I don't have a good mental game. I often choose the wrong clubs and my putting can be bad. I can get lazy when I'm putting," he says.
"Every time I leave home to play in a tournament, my goal is always the same, but in the four days of the event, I always feel like I defeat myself."
It has been a rollercoaster ride for Yuan, who has been one of China's most exciting talents since turning pro in 2004, having represented his country at the Busan Asian Games with Liao Guiming and Wu Kangchun.
He was joint runner-up to Zhang Xinjun, an amateur, in last June's China Pro-Am and revealed his ambition by trying his luck in this year's Asian Tour Qualifying School.
However, he doesn't have a coach and instead hopes time will prove his ally as he learns from his many, often agonizing, experiences. Arguably his most painful loss was in the final round of the 2006 Shandong Championship, which embodied his frustrated quest to win on his domestic circuit.
Yuan was four ahead of Li Chao after 14 holes but a four-shot swing saw the pair level going to the last. Yuan put his approach eight feet from the flag, but Li landed his inches closer, critically forcing Yuan to putt first and give his rival a perfect read for a dramatic birdie, his third in four holes. Li has gone on to win eight times on Tour and twice topped the Omega Order of Merit.
Yuan has finished eighth, fifth, sixth and seventh on the Omega Order of Merit in the Tour's first four seasons, but another year featuring several 'good' results is unlikely to satisfy the man who turns 30 in September.
"My biggest desire is to become a champion on the Omega China Tour. That's my goal and my dream now. There are more foreign players this year, but my aim hasn't changed," he says.
"Luxehills is a very beautiful course and the wide fairways suit my game. I played well in Nanjing in April and in Chengdu I hope to finally win. It should be my turn. I hope so."
(Xinhua News Agency May 14, 2009)
