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Sometimes companies claim tooffer something that is not really the truth. Itwould
havebeen easy for theVenetian tobring some second rateprogolfers toMacau and run
a pro-am and some clinics. However, theVenetianMacaudoesn’t believe indealingwith
also-ransand recentlygaveMacaugolf enthusiastsa sampleof theworld’sbest.
The first big name on top of the list was Chinese number one ranked player Liang
Wen-Chong. Liang and his Japanese and South Korean counterparts are responsible for
puttingAsiaon theworld’sgolfingmap. Joininghimwere threeotherpros from theworld
tour. Currentworldnumber two (and formerworldnumberone) LeeWestwoodmade the
tripwith fellowEnglishmanandRyderCuphero IanPoulter.As if thatwasn’tenoughyoung
Northern Irish superstar and currentUSOpen championRoryMcIlroy joined thegroup to
make itastar-studded lineup.McIlroy isconsideredbymostasthehottestgolfingprospect
on theplanetand the likeableyoungman isalreadybeingcomparedwith the likesofTiger
Woodsand JackNicklaus.
A select groupof lucky younggolfers from theMacauGolf Associationgot tomeet
their heroes for photos and a chat before attending a two-hour clinic held by coaches
from the ButchHarmon golf school at Caesars Golf. The kids then got to see the golfing
heavyweights strut their stuffover the16thand18thholes.
“Thiswassoamazing!”saidoneyoung fanwhowasoverwhelmedby theopportunity.“I
absolutely loveplayinggolfandgettingtomeetoneofmyheroes,LiangWen-Chong, isadream
come true. Ihope I can follow inhis footstepsandbecomeaprofessionalgolferoneday.”
The trip toMacauhad a serious side as the four proswere competing inone of the
strangest tournamentseverheld.The2011ShuiOnLandChinaGolfChallengewasaunique
18-hole,par73golfingodysseythroughChinawherethedistancefromthefirstteetothe18th
greenwasover3,500kilometers!The“fabfour”ofWestwood,McIlroy,PoulterandLiangplayed
only18holesoveraweek, competingon just twoor threeholesateachofeightcourses. Lee
andLiangbothfinished the18holes in the leadat two-under-parbut itwas theEnglishman
whomanagedtoovercomethestrongChinesechallengeonaplayoffhole.Poulterwasclose
behindatoneunderpar,whileMcIlroy found thegoinga little tougher tofinishat sixover.
“We’re always happy to host an exceptional sporting event like the China Golf
Challenge,”offeredEdwardTracy, PresidentandChief ExecutiveOfficerof SandsChinaLtd.
“Macaohasbeendrawing international attention for its increasingarrayof entertainment
offerings, andTheVenetianMacaowill continue tobring inhigh-profile andhigh-quality
international eventsofworld-class talent for theenjoymentof everyone inMacao.”
Macauwas the final stopon the tour, whichhadbegun in Shanghai. The tourwill be
partofan international televisionspecial tobebroadcast inChinaandmanyothercountries
aroundtheworld.This isagreatopportunityforChinatoshow itsamazingdiversityasatourist
destinationaswell asshowcasinghow farChinesegolfhascome in recentyears.
We can all hope that there aremanymoreworld-class athletes planningonmaking
the trip to thispartof theworld.
我们周围时常会见到夸大其辞的宣传。澳门威尼斯人
邀请一些二流职业高尔夫球员来做技术指导并组织职业业
余配对赛应该不算难事。然而，威尼斯人岂会甘于沦为夸
夸其谈之辈？最近它将一些名副其实的国际一流高球手介
绍给了澳门的高球迷。
名单上首先映入眼帘的是世界排名最高的中国球员－
梁文冲。梁文冲及日本、韩国的知名球员承载了将亚洲搬
上世界高球版图的重任。与他一同前来的有当今世界排名
第二（前世界第一）李·韦斯特伍德，以及同样来自英国
的、莱德杯高尔夫球赛英雄伊恩·保尔特。似乎这还不
够，年轻的北爱尔兰巨星、今年美国公开赛冠军罗里·麦
克罗伊也加入到这支群星璀璨的队伍中。麦克罗伊被公认
为世界上最炙手可热的高球手。这位人缘佳的年轻人已经
拿来与老虎·伍兹和杰克·尼克劳斯之辈相提并论。
来自澳门高尔夫球总会的11名年轻球员有幸与他们心
中的英雄合影聊天，并在凯撒球会参加了布奇哈蒙高尔夫
学校的教练们安排的两小时言传身教。之后他们观摩了这
些重量级高球手在第16洞和第18洞表演拿手好戏。
“这简直太棒了！”一位年轻球迷按捺不住兴奋之
情，“我热爱打高尔夫，有机会与偶像梁文冲面对面对
我来说是梦想成真。我希望能追随他的脚步，将来也成
为一名职业球员。”
此次澳门之行有较严肃的一面，四位高球手将在
一场极富新意的比赛中切磋。2011年瑞安中国高尔夫挑
战赛是一场别致的18洞、标准杆73杆的比赛，赛地遍及
全中国，第1洞开杆至第18洞收杆之间行程超过3500公
里！四大高手－韦斯特伍德、麦克罗伊、保尔特和梁文
冲一周内转战了8个球场，每个球场只比拼2或3洞。梁
文冲和维斯特伍德在18洞过后以同低标准杆2杆并列领
先，最后维斯特伍德在加洞赛中推进小鸟球获胜；保尔
特以低标准杆1杆紧随其后；麦克罗伊以高标准杆6杆名
列第四。
“主办诸如中国高尔夫挑战赛这样的比赛，我们向来
感到乐此不疲，”金沙中国有限公司主席兼首席执行官爱
德华·卓思先生说，“澳门以其不断翻新的娱乐花样引起
世界瞩目，威尼斯人将继续为澳门引进高声望和高品质的
国际一流赛事。”
此次挑战赛在上海开杆，澳门是最后一站。该比赛将
作为一档国际节目的一部分进行全球播出。对中国来说，
这是展示其作为旅游目的地的多样性以及中国高尔夫近年
来长足发展的一个绝好机会。
我们衷心希望有更多的世界级运动员光临澳门。
访问我们的网站www.wgm8.com查阅《环球博彩》刊登的所有文章。
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WorldGaming.
世界级高尔夫在澳门开球
WORLDCLASSTEETIME INMACAU
第
13
期
2011
年
11
月
/12
月
|#13NOV/DEC2011
