Guan Tianlang: Is This 14-Year-Old the Next Golfing Superstar

Further evidence that China is surpassing the United States in almost everything is provided to us this Tuesday by Guan Tianlang. Guan is the 14-year old golf reigning winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship. He will be competing at the Augusta Nationals for the first time this week and is the youngest competitor to ever participate in the tournament. Tianlang is proof that no only is Tiger Woods still relevant, the game of golf is gaining a worldwide audience. 

The game of golf has had trouble attracting interest from both fans and youthful players. That won’t come as a surprise to Augusta National or Royal and Ancient. They have teamed up to promote the game of gulf among younger amateurs by developing a series of golf championships aimed at promoting young players. It’s been working too. With the inclusion of golf as an Olympic sport and the Chinese governments dedication to hand-picking players to participate in championships, the games popularity has substantially increased in Asia. 

Guan was inspired by Tiger Woods to become involved in the game. Woods is able to bring a star quality to golf that many golfers just don’t seem to possess. The 14-time major winner will be competing for his fifth green jacket at the Masters this year. When people think of sports, golf may not be the first sport that comes to mind, but an increasing amount of global participants are making this game more popular than ever. Tiger Woods is happy to see the growing influence golf is having on the world. 

“The game has become global. There are more countries represented on the PGA Tour than ever before, and that’s not going to change. It’s only going to increase, and we’re going to have a lot of players from countries that traditionally haven’t been into golf that are going to start to play this game at a high level.” 

Guan is still young, he is only able to hit the ball around 250 yards, but he shows a lot of promise as he develops his skill. He's part of several talented golfers from Asia, these players are both extremely disciplined and extremely gifted. The games exploding popularity in Asia has resulted in a golf-course boom in China and elsewhere. Tiger Woods and the inclusion of golf as an Olympic event have helped to make this game a truly global sport.