14 And Headed Down Magnolia Lane: "The latest example of what might happen should China embrace golf other than superficially."
Guan Tianlang, all of 14 for two weeks now, is headed to the 2013 Masters thanks to his one-shot win in the Asia Pacific Amateur.
John Strege wonders what it'll all mean for golf in China.
Thus Guan will become the second Chinese 14-year-old to play in a major championship in a 10-month period. In June, Andy Zhang played in the U.S. Open at the Olympic Club. What each also has in common is that they train, at least part of the year, in Florida.
Golf remains largely an elitist sport in China, though it is growing; the number of courses there has increased from 170 to nearly 600 in the last eight years, according to a story by China Daily. We asked Dan Washburn, an expert on golf in China and a contributor to Golf Digest and Golf World for his thoughts on what impact Guan might have on Chinese golf.
Farrell Evans also tries to put some perspective on this amazing accomplishment.
You can follow Tianlang on Twitter here.
Sunday, November 4, 2012 at 08:37 AM
Reader Comments (53)
The People's Academy of Golf might have a dilemma with the newly incubated junior golfers if the rules change anytime soon.
If, as has already been alluded to (on here, I think) the pros bring in a ban from next year instead of waiting for the next rules change, could present a few problems for Master Guan. Not such a problem if you're playing in the monthly medal but ... The Masters at Augusta? Crivvens!!!
Zero, bumpkis, nada.
Yi Jianlian was the last - he is now playing in the Chinese professional league (he is also known for lying about his age, and in cahoots with the Chinese governing body, in order stay in the junior ranks longer where he was dominant player - maybe golfer Guan Tianlang is a diminutive sized 20 year old for all we know).
However, golf champions usually rise from relatively humble beginnings - that is a much wider natural talent pool.
As a result, we get multi-major champions like a pot-bellied Argentinian to started in the caddie shack or overly goofy Irish golfer who played on the local policeman's course because that is what his father did for a living.
The manufactured rich kid golfers like Charles Howell and Casey Wittenburg have always underwhelmed compared to their original hype.
Who is the most successful manufactured rich kid golfer? Hal Sutton maybe?
The kid in the PRC who has the most natural talent for golf probably lives in one of the poor interior provinces and had to quit school to help the family survive after the local Communist party chief confiscated the family's land to sell to a property developer. No chance for him. But if there was, Chinese golfers would be a real threat at every major.
Greatest rich kid golfers of all time are Bobby Jones and Jack Nicklaus.
Re: Nicklaus
Pharmacists are rich?
I didn't know they could run with a crowd full of hedge fund managers and kleptocrat/oligarch Communist party members.
Wow! Seriously, wow! I never knew.
http://www.economist.com/node/21541716
Next time try this:
"Right, just like when Yao Ming opened the basketball floodgates?"
Glad I could help.
Your welcome.
And, thank YOU for the chat!
You got any financial docs or stats regarding Charlie Nicklaus that I can show him as proof?
How many middle class 19 year olds are trading stocks?
Okay then. Whatever you say.
So thankful that you have the time to enlighten us on the profitability of various business models.
BTW, I have heard of Travelocity, but so far Googling "Travelosity" has yielded nothing. Can your wisdom direct me to where I can find out more about Travelosity?
China encompasses many different ethnic groups and regions and the physiology varies widely. In general people in the north are taller and broader. Also several middle regions of china (Henan for example) have generally larger builds. Their are just too many of them to deny they can access enough of the physical talents to do anything. In general I would say they will excel at individual sports over team sports often because of various cultural issues. The larger issues with soccer include corruption which will not help develop talent. Often their is a reluctance to bring in foreign experts as well which would accelerate learning.
But if they want to put the government sports machine behind golf development, I suspect they will produce many fine golfers.
I live in china, and travel widely. What concerns me most is the lack of caddy access to golf. Even 10 years ago all the courses I played allowed/encouraged the caddies to learn. More recently many of the courses I play do not make practice time or the course available to them. Over the years I have met several caddies with only a few years experience who were single digit handicappers. They they we all under 25 years old.
Playing golf here is expensive, really expensive for the average Chinese person. But practicing at a range can be reasonably priced in many areas.
If the Chinese courses take up junior development it will also help. I learned golf in canada because the private club across the street from my school allowed us to access it's facilities for gym class. It helped two members of my class get US College scholarships.
Need more of that here.
KG
Obviously this kid is the child of some serious hitter....really serious. Seth Waugh's kid doesn't have anything on this Guan, and that's saying something.
Wonder if his Dad is one of the new gazillionaire entrepreneurs....or did he make his money the old fashioned way?
BTW, this is the same kid who earlier this year became youngest ever to tee it up in a Euro Tour event at age 13-and-a-little...
Steven Fox appears to have, as they say, dug it out of the dirt. Country boy from TN. From what I can he never played a tourney outside the southeast until he went to college.
Where is he now? A middling PGA Tour member with a Nationwide tour victory to his credit. Nice, but certainly no big deal.
Billy Payne, and whoever the other ANGC octogenarian is, must be salivating over the addition TV coverage in Mainland China for next year's Masters.
This was the sole reason they tossed freebie invites to Liang Wen Chong and Zhang Lian Wei over the years (although I kind of like Liang).
- Guan plays SLOW. Very deliberate.
- Belly putter and a Superstroke (oversized) grip. That is a lot of "help" for a young player. Doesn't bode well.
- He has a Matt Kuchar swing plane and a young guy hip thrust at impact..an unusual combination for a young player.
- Was it hot there, or was it just aversion to sun exposure...Guan and many others had umbrellas. The female caddies were wearing gloves, caps, long sleeve shirts and tights. So I am guessing minimizing sun exposure/tanning?
- Interesting to see all the ANGC guys as part of the action. Fred Ridley working the rules. One guy had an ANGC umbrella in tow...I guess he learned last year that it was a good idea?