China's golfers on the rise
Golf

China's golfers on the rise

Updated 1333 GMT (2133 HKT) May 2, 2013
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Guan Tianlang, now 14, qualified for the 2013 Masters when -- as the youngest player in the field, then rated 490th in the world amateur rankings -- he beat a host of senior golfers to win the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Thailand. Guan of China became the youngest player to make the cut at Augusta and finished as the top amateur. Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Guan enjoyed a practice round with his hero Tiger Woods, whose first Masters title came in 1997 -- the year before the Chinese teenager was born. Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Andy Zhang was just 14 when he became the youngest player to compete in the history of the 2012 U.S. Open, a tournament first played in 1895. Getty Images
Jing Yan -- then 16 -- became the youngest Chinese female golfer to ever play in a major, after comfortably qualifying for the 2012 British Open at Royal Liverpool. LAURENT FIEVET/AFP/Getty Images
Feng Shanshan also made history in 2012 when she became the first Chinese golfer -- either male or female -- to win a major. The 23-year-old, the highest-ranked Chinese player in the world, won by two strokes in the United States to win the LPGA Championship. Hunter Martin/Getty Images
Ye Wocheng made European Tour history when he teed up at the 2013 China Open aged 12 years and 242 days, having come through a regional qualifying event. Richard Castka/Sportpixgolf.com
The schoolboy juggles his studies at Dongguan Middle School in Guangdong Province with his golfing career. Richard Castka/Sportpixgolf.com
He carded a seven-over-par 79 in the opening round of the China Open at Binhai Lake Golf Course on May 2. Lintao Zhang/Getty Images