June 2013 - Black Sports The Magazine

China’s Guan Tianlang
Youngest Ever to Play in the Masters at Augusta
Guan Tianlang is a golfer from Guangzhou, South China’s
Guangdong Province. Born on October 25, 1998, Tianlang started
playing golf at the age of four. He won the world junior title by 11
shots in San Diego, California, in 2011. He is the youngest player
to ever tee it up at The Masters Golf Tournament at Augusta,
Georgia, at the age of 14 years, five months and 17 days.
In April 2012, he made history as the youngest player to take part
in a European Tour event, when he played the Volvo China Open
in Tianjin at the age of 13 years and 177 days.
He also won the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Thailand
on Nov. 4, 2012, which earned himself an invitation to the 2013
Masters at Augusta.
When Tianlang teed it up at Augusta on April 11, 2013, he beat
the previous record set by Italy’s Matteo Manassero, who was 16
when he played at the year’s first major in 2010.
Danny Webb, a respected coach who teamed up with Tianlang
when he was six said “he is the best kid I’ve seen anywhere. I
think he will be the first
Chinese major winner.”
good. He told me a lot. We really enjoyed it on the golf course.”
Tianlang’s biggest weakness seems to be his lack of length off
the tee. He is said to drive it about 250 yards on average. On April
8, 2013, he was routinely 50 yards behind Woods off the tee with
his drives.
“I think it’s going to put a little pressure to me,” Tianlang said
regarding his lack of distance.
A member of the Lion Lake Country Club in Qingyuan, Guangdong
(China), Tianlang comes from a hard-working Chinese family,
who have encouraged him to focus not solely on golf but also to
get a good education. He is already a fluent English speaker. He
brought a bundle of school books to America to keep up with his
homework.
The schoolboy, known by his friends as ‘Lang Lang,’ also looks
forward to representing China at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic
Games. “It’s every athlete’s dream to represent their home country
at the Olympics,” Tianlang said. “It will be the greatest honor to
me if I can represent China at the 2016 Olympics.”
Tianlang was determined to
grab every opportunity to
learn and improve his game
before his journey at Augusta.
He played in the morning
with Ben Crenshaw and an
afternoon round with Tiger
Woods on April 8, 2013, and
alongside the legendary
Tom Watson on April 9, 2013.
He partnered with England’s
three-time champion Nick
Faldo in the par-three
tournament on April 10,
2013.
Both, Ben Crenshaw and
Tiger Woods, were full of
praise for the youngster.
Woods said, “It’s frightening
to think that he was born after
I won my first Masters. I
mean, that’s just frightening.
It’s exciting that I have
inspired kids to play and not
just here in the States, but
obviously in China and
around the world.”
Speaking of the experience,
Tianlang said, “Each time I
play with him I feel a lot better,
and give myself some
confidence, and it’s very
Tiger Woods (l)
& Guan Tianlang
18 BSTM June 2013