Hong Kong: Chinese star Liang Wen-chong wants to follow in the footsteps of Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee.
Liang is ready to reinvent himself to ensure his career longevity as he prepares to challenge for the US$2 million UBS Hong Kong Open which starts tomorrow.
The 38-year-old, the only Chinese golfer to win the Asian Tour Order of Merit trophy in 2007, hopes to keep winning tournaments over the next decade.
He will be joined by Thongchai, defending champion Justin Rose, Danny Willett, 2010 winner Ian Poulter, and Patrick Reed, the highest ranked player in the field this week.
The tournament is co-sanctioned by the Asian and European tours.
Liang has already begun the transitional work, changing his self-taught golf swing with the aim of becoming more consistent in delivering shots that will keep him up on leaderboards.
"I'm changing my swing a bit, trying to take the club away from the body instead of more on the inside which is my current swing. I have to make a good plan for the next few years because I want to become better," said Liang.
"I need to change because of age. First is the golf swing and then second is the body. You have to get more energy because I'm getting older now. I want to be like Thongchai Jaidee. He's so tough, he's my idol. I want to see how to make my golfing life extend longer. I need to find the secret.
"I always try to observe Thongchai and learn from him. He's so strong [even at his age of 47]."
Thongchai won his eighth European Tour title at the French Open in July.
With his plan in motion, Liang harbours dreams of lifting the Hong Kong Open trophy, an event which he started his love affair with during his amateur days.
While he has numerous top-20 finishes at the Hong Kong Golf Club, the 38-year-old's favourite memory was when he sank a hole-in-one at the 2006 edition which earned him a one-kilogramme bar of gold sponsored by UBS.
US Ryder Cup star Reed, ranked eighth in the world, plans to take things easy after finishing in tied third place in his debut appearance at the Hong Kong Open last year.
"I'm not going to be as aggressive off the tees, but we're still going to be really aggressive with those irons on the greens. It cost me a tournament last year. There's a lot of errors I had last year," said Reed.
"The biggest difference is you can't make the careless errors. There's a lot of times last year where being the aggressive nature that I am in golf, I went for a lot of things I shouldn't have and it cost a lot of bogeys for me. It was definitely the difference of being -- winning the tournament and finishing third," he added.
Reigning Masters champion Willett will contend at the Hong Kong Open after taking a two-week break.
"You look at the winners that you've had around here over the last 10 years, and you know, there are some stellar names and great players that have won around this golf course," said Willett.
Willett will play alongside Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Wang Jeung-Hun of South Korea in the first two rounds.
Poulter, who won the Hong Kong Open in 2010, endured a long-term injury lay-off this year and he is delighted to be back in action and feels ready to win again.
He said: "My confidence level is always there. I'm not a half-empty guy. I'm a half-full guy. So that's never going to leave. I'm as ambitious as I've always been and I always look to perform well. I always want to put pressure on myself and I always demand big things. So that will never change.
"I am really looking forward to this week because we are back at a golf course that I love. If I can make a few more putts this week I think I have a great chance to pick that trophy up on Sunday."