Bettered not beaten, Liang vows to return to Masters

BEIJING, April 16 -- China's Liang Wenchong left Augusta National bettered but not beaten as he promised to make a quick return to the prestigious Masters Tournament.

The Asian Tour No 1 missed the halfway cut at the year's opening major with rounds of 76 and 78, as he failed to cope with the high demands of the fabled Augusta National course.

"I would like to come back one day," Liang said. "This is a special tournament and I want to thank Augusta National again for the invitation. This experience has taught me there is more to learn. I'll try to improve on my world ranking to come back here."

The Chinese star was hoping to perform well after finishing tied for 12th at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans, a US PGA Tour event two weeks ago. But his A-game failed him when he needed it most at the Masters, which saw some of the world's best players including Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia and Luke Donald miss the weekend cut.

Liang's caddie Kunihito Auyama said he didn't play as well as he could: "It was as though I was carrying someone else's bag this week, not Liang Wenchong's."

The 29-year-old Liang will look ahead to the Volvo China Open this week and the BMW Asian Open next week. But he will not forget the lessons he learned in his Masters debut.

"Overall, this was a good learning experience. There were good things and bad things in my play," Liang said.

"It was especially good to play in front of big crowds and be able to learn and react to my emotions. The golf course was difficult and I learned that there are certain areas of my game that I need to improve on.

"There was this invisible pressure that got me. You need to be at your best under these circumstances."

With Liang set to make more major history when he becomes the first Chinese player to tee off at the British Open in July - courtesy of his Asian Tour Order of Merit success last season - he is looking forward to rubbing shoulders with the world's best again.

"I think this will be good preparation for the British Open," said Liang, who will play in the European Open and Barclays Scottish Open ahead of the year's third major in the summer.