Liao Guiming became the third winner of the China Tour's order of merit as he dominated the end-of-season awards here, organisers said.

Liao, who finished 17th at the Omega Championship on Sunday after suffering neck pain, was also named most improved player and finished with the best stroke average.

The 31-year-old succeeds Li Chao, the two-time merit winner, and Zhang Lianwei, who won the title in 2006.

"Winning the Omega Order of Merit proves I have the ability. I had a great career as an amateur but it took me five years to finally win as a pro," said Liao.

Liao won a total of 375,125 yuan (55,000 dollars) this season including his maiden tour victory at Nanjing in May.

© 2008 AFP/sid