Up with the masters

Guan Tianlang, 14, has already claimed numerous titles and records. Provided to China Daily

The youngest player ever to compete in the Masters aims to become one of golf's greats

Guan Tianlang dreams big. At the age of 8, he told his father he wanted to win a Grand Slam in golf, winning all four majors in the same year, a feat that's never been accomplished.

It could have been regarded as a child's delusion at the time, but after six years, hardly any one dare say the Chinese youngster was day dreaming.

The sunny spring of Augusta has seen the 14-year-old now become the youngest player ever to compete in the Masters at Augusta, Georgia, one of the sports most famous championships, which was due to begin on Thursday.

After holding a news conference at Augusta National Golf Club, a rare sight for an amateur, Guan played the front nine with 1984 US Masters champion Ben Crenshaw and the back nine with the game's best player, Tiger Woods, on Monday. Then a practice round with '77 and '81 Masters champion Tom Watson on Tuesday, and an annual par-3 contest with '96 champion Nick Faldo.

He was also given the unique opportunity, with his parents, to meet the 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus and learn from The Golden Bear.

Woods said he was impressed with the history Guan is making.

"If you think about it, he's not even in high school yet," Woods said after playing with Guan. "He's in middle school and he's playing the Masters. It's a pretty remarkable story."

World No 2 Rory McIlroy has also taken notice of Guan.

"It's just going to be such a great experience for him," McIlroy said. "If I had any advice for him it would be, just enjoy it. You're playing in the Masters at 14; I mean, he could potentially play... I don't know, 60 Masters?"

Guan's biggest weakness coming into Augusta seems to be his lack of length off the tee. He is said to drive it about 250 yards, on average.

"I think it's going to put a little pressure on me," Guan says regarding his lack of distance.

But pressure is nothing new to Guan, who qualified for the Masters by winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in November at Amata Spring Country Club in Thailand in November and had already claimed numerous titles and records.

The Guangzhou native lifted the world junior crown in San Diego with a record 18-under in three rounds in the summer of 2011. He became the youngest champion of a national amateur open by winning the China Amateur Golf Open in November, 2011, and then the youngest champion of the Aaron Baddeley Invitational one month later, which qualified him to play the 2012 Australian Open last December.

He also became the youngest player in the history of the European PGA when he teed off in the Volvo China Open last April.

His father Guan Hanwen, a doctor and a golf enthusiast, attributes his son's achievements to affection for the little white ball.

Guan Hanwen was among the early generation of Chinese to play golf in the 1990s. In addition to daily practice, he asked friends overseas to bring video tapes and DVDs of international tournaments for him to study. The father's passion for golf rubbed off on the son.

"When I watched the game, he watched attentively with me as long as I did, mostly one to two hours," Guan Hanwen says. "I was a little surprised at that time, and he fell in love with golf later."

The younger Guan first picked up a club at the age of 4, and at 6 began playing junior competitions in the United States, where he would watch professional tournaments like the US Open with his father.

Despite all that golf, Guan is a middle school student in Guangzhou and does well in his studies.

"The most important reason for Langly (Guan's nickname) to achieve outstanding results is his pure affection for golf," Guan Hanwen says. "He put himself into golf and made it part of his life, just like eating, watching TV or playing video games. It's fun for him, and he caught on quickly.

"But if you ask him to practice four or five hours every day, he might lose interest and play even worse.

"Many kids in the US practice less, but play great. Of course many also stand out because of intensive training, but I feel those who play with interest have more potential because interest is the best teacher."

Just as impressive as Guan's game is his attitude: he always shows great composure while playing or attending news conferences.

"He's got a serious attitude which is good," Watson said on the eve of his Master's performance. "I like the attitude. He's here to do his absolute best and play in the Masters ... It's a very special event obviously."

Guan's character is inborn, different from both of his parents, and might be a key to his achievement, his father says.

"He has the same manner no matter how he plays, and you can hardly figure out whether he played good or bad."

"When he plays bad, there is no signal, and if it is a multiple-day event, he can gradually catch up on the following days, even if he lost a lot of ground the first day. When he finishes more than 10 shots under par, you also can't feel his excitement. Maybe this is one of his advantages in playing golf."

It is that composure that drove Guan to challenge Woods at the age of 12.

Guan was matched with Woods when they played one hole together during the pro-am event at the HSBC Champions at Shanghai Sheshan International Golf Club in 2010.

In front of his idol, Guan asked to shoot from the same black tees as Woods, instead of the blue tees meant for amateurs.

Woods hit a 4-iron to eight feet on the 212-yard par-three 17th, and Guan responded with a straight three-wood strike within 10 feet.

Woods saved face with a birdie, but was impressed with the boy.

Five months later, Guan got another chance to play with Woods after he won the 2011 Mission Hills Nike Junior Championship in Shenzhen.

"I want to be as good as Tiger Woods, or even better than him," Guan told China Daily during a domestic amateur tournament in September.

Though Guan has already distinguished himself, he is not in a hurry to turn professional as he wants to wait for physical growth to make him more stable and competitive.

"I want to wait for my body to grow and am thinking of turning professional after improving my distance," Guan says. His father said it will take some time, but perhaps not as long as many would think.

"If he can take a competitive ranking in the principal tours such as the European tours and the Asian tours, then he can turn professional, regardless of age. But there are still a lot of differences in height, power and striking distance between a child and an adult. He is short of muscular power and has to rely on the flexibility of his body to play.

"It will take some time. But I believe he will be something after he grows stronger."

tangzhe@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/12/2013 page29)