AUGUSTA: Chinese 14-year-old schoolboy Guan Tianlang, the youngest player in Masters history, struggled to a five-over par 77 in the third round of the 77th Masters to stand third-from last.
Simply reaching the weekend by making the cut on the number was a triumph of sorts for Guan, the youngest player in a major since Scotland’s “Young” Tom Morris made his British Open debut at age 14 in 1865.
“It’s just a great week for me, and I really enjoy it,” Guan said. “People here are nice and I learned a lot from the top players. I played pretty good rounds these three days. It’s really great.”
Guan, who won the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship last year in Thailand to qualify for the Masters, stood on nine-over par 225 after 54 holes.
Today, Guan will play alongside Scotland’s 55-year-old Sandy Lyle, the 1985 Masters winner, in the second group.
“I’m pretty excited I get to play with all the top players on the weekend,” Guan said. “I had a pretty good run in the first two days, and today feels pretty good, not badly. I did a couple unlucky (things), but that’s golf.”
After a bogey at the par-3 fourth for the second day in a row, Guan took bogeys at the par-4 ninth and par-4 11th for the second time in three days. He also made bogeys at 14 and 17 playing alongside Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen.
“Unbelievable. He’s a great player,” Olesen said. “Every shot he hit was almost at the pin and in the right spots. He could have holed a few more putts, but I was really impressed by his game. It was impressive to watch.”
Guan has not made a birdie since sinking a 20-foot putt on the 18th hole on Thursday to finish his first Masters round with a sizzling 71. REUTERS
