Chinese golf tees off

Chinese teenager Guan Tianlang had a memorable week at the Augusta National Golf Club in the United States.

When he teed off alongside the world's golfing elite on Thursday, the 14-year-old golfer became the youngest player in the history of the US Masters tournament. On Friday, he made history by becoming the first Chinese, and the youngest golfer ever, to make the cut in a major, making an instant mark on the game and winning fame virtually overnight.

Eventually, Guan finished the tournament in 58th place, 21 strokes behind winner Adam Scott of Australia and 17 behind his long-time idol Tiger Woods, who finished fourth.

Guan's achievement is noteworthy enough to pose an exciting question: Is China the next big thing in the world of golf?

In the eyes of Zhang Xiaoning, secretary-general of the Chinese Golf Association, who has led his association's "future star" program for six years, the answer is in the affirmative. Thanks to the program, tens of thousands of children have participated in amateur tournaments and training camps arranged by the association, and it looks as though China is well placed to become a major golfing nation."Guan is just one example. We have considerable talent in the under-16 age group. In the future, more and more Chinese golfers will emerge," Zhang says.

He has plenty of reasons to be optimistic. Even before Guan's recent efforts, several young Chinese golfers had made their mark on the world stage, including 24-year-old Feng Shanshan, whose victory at the LPGA Championship in June made her the first golfer from the Chinese mainland to win a major tournament. Meanwhile, in September, Wu Ashun served notice of his talent when he became the first male player from the Chinese mainland to win a tournament on the Japan Golf Tour.

"The impact of Guan's achievement goes beyond the tournament itself; it will be a huge driver for the development of golf in China," says Wu Wen, organizer of The China Futures Tour, an annual six-stop amateur tour in which Guan has participated.

Wu was in Augusta to watch Guan's game. "In making the cut at the Masters, Guan not only created a Chinese miracle, but also rewrote the history of the Masters. It's a gigantic surprise to the golf world," she says. "Everyone here, from the spectators to the officials, is talking about Guan and Chinese golf. It's a considerable boost."

Ahead of the Masters, Guan was invited to play a practice round with the 1977 and 1981 Masters champion Tom Watson, and also meet with the "Golden Bear", 18-time major winner, Jack Nicklaus.

"Fourteen years old. I thought that was pretty sharp," says Nicklaus of Guan's achievement.

Great expectations

The Italian player Matteo Manessero was 16 in 2010, when he became the youngest person to play in the Masters at that time. Because of the adoration he received in his native country, he knows exactly what Guan means to China.

"I'm sure it's going to be huge for golf in China," Manessero says. "They need great Chinese golfers and golf stories to tell, and this is one of them, for sure."

The Italian was impressed by Guan's composure. "You kind of don't feel it while you're doing it," Manessero says of the pressures and the expectations of the people back home. "Once you grow up and you look back on it, you understand how important it was. But I don't think he's feeling the pressure right now, which is a good thing."

Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani is also a Guan fan. "To come out here in the Masters and shoot the score he did on Thursday shows his composure and it's fabulous," he says.

Giuliani believes that the influence of one great athlete can change a country's perception of a sport. "Babe Ruth basically created baseball. It takes one great player to change a sport, to make an entire country focus on a sport," he says. "Hopefully he'll be it, and China is a great market for golf. It's an international sport, so it should be perfect for China."

The point is well illustrated by the tale of South Korea's Yang Yong-eun, who beat world No 1 Tiger Woods in the 2009 USPGA. That one victory dragged golf into the spotlight in Yang's home country, giving the player a unique perspective on Guan's achievement and his potential impact on golf in China.

"I think he's a good player," says Yang. "Fourteen years old is really unbelievable. He plays well and a lot of young people could come and play as well. In China, a lot of people play golf. Maybe more young people will take up the sport now."

The 13-year-old amateur Zhang Shilu is one of a growing number of youngsters playing the game. She practices at a golf club near the port of Dalian in Liaoning province, and hopes to have as great an impact as Guan.

"Guan leads golf in a delightful way, and is a great inspiration to those who have just started, or want to start the sport," says her father Zhang Zhiqiang.

Firing the imagination

Similar scenarios have been seen in other sports, most notably the amazing impact Li Na's success has had on tennis in China.

According to Tennis Magazine, 10 professional tennis academies are now operating nationwide, in addition to local sports programs, after interest rose to fever pitch following Li's historic victory at the 2011 French Open. Moreover, the number of amateur clubs has soared.

Before Li, basketball star Yao Ming helped the NBA to expand into China and make basketball arguably the nation's No 1 sport.

"He will focus more attention on golf in his homeland," said Bob Harig, senior golf writer at the sporting website ESPN, when Guan won the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in November, which led to his qualification for Augusta.

"China is home to some 1.3 billion people, few of whom play golf. But the number is slowly rising. Guan's victory and his subsequent appearance in the Masters will focus more attention on him and the game, and perhaps spark interest among other people in China."

Boasting a poised and mature manner and speaking good English, Guan has set his sights sky high and is very open about his goals. During the Changyang Amateur Golf Championship in Beijing in September, he told China Daily that he wants to be as good as, or even better than, the world No 1 and 14-time major winner Tiger Woods. He also has ambitions to win all the majors in the same year, a feat that's never been accomplished.

"Your future is the future of Chinese golf. World No 1? Nothing is impossible," China's No 1 golfer Liang Wenchong, who played in the 2008 US Masters, wrote on his micro blog after Guan made the cut.

Despite the optimism, Zhang Xiaoning has called for patience. "Guan's breakthrough at Augusta will be a huge encouragement for junior golfers, but they still have a long road to travel. It takes time to reach the heights of great players like Tiger Woods," he says.