Liao's sizzling 66 lights up Sofitel

　　May 22, 2008: Liao Guiming, joint runner-up in last week’s Shanghai Championship, set the pace in sunny Nanjing where four successive birdies inspired a six-under-par 66 and gave him a one-stroke lead in the first round of the Sofitel Golf Championship, the fifth stop on the Omega China Tour.

　　Ye Xionghui was the early leader with a 67, while Li Chao, the two-time Omega Order of Merit winner, teenage amateur James Su Dong and Yang Shengqin all shot 68 at the spectacular Nanjing Zhongshan International Golf Club, named the Tour’s Best Venue of the Year in 2007.

　　Hong Kong-based Nick Redfern, 21-year-old James Yang Wenzhang, Chen Yingfeng and Xu Qin – who played with Liao and Zhang Lianwei – each posted 69 to tie for sixth.

　　Zhang himself shot 72 to tie for 19th with 16 other players, including Chinese Taipei invite Tsai Chi-huang, whose compatriot Lu Wen-teh withdrew after aggravating a foot injury.

　　Liao amazed himself and his famous playing partner with some stunning long putts in his early holes. After bogeying the first, the easy-smiling 30-year-old sank four putts from between 15 and 30 feet on the next four holes. Further birdies on seven, 10, 13 and 17 put him seven-under, but he dropped a shot on the last after hitting his approach into a bunker.

　　Zhang, 42, was the first to congratulate the leader and later said: “Lao Liao (Old Liao) was incredible today. He was holing out from everywhere. I’ve never seen him play like this!”