"Golfer from China." "Chinese golfer." "Asian." Hell, just stick with "14-year-old."
"Chinaman"?
"Dude, Chinaman is not the preferred nomenclature," notes Timothy Burke of Deadspin, who pulled the above clip from a newscast in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Guan Tianlang accomplished two historic firsts in the second round of the Masters yesterday. He made the cut, becoming the youngest player to do so in any major (he was, after all, the youngest player to ever participate in any major). And he was assessed a stroke-penalty for "slow play" on the 17th hole.
"He became the first player, by all accounts, in the 77 times they've held this tournament, to be assessed a penalty for slow play," writes ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski.
Guan Tianlang is precocious. He is a star. We're not sure if he knows this and is simply playing the role of establishmentarian golf prodigy to a tee -- with understated self-assessments washed with humility, a genial confidence -- or is just being himself, but judging by his post-round quotes, he doesn't feel at all uncomfortable in the spotlight as the biggest story story in this year's biggest golf tournament. Sergio, who? Marc Leishman, who? Tiger, who?
Any reference to Chinese golf sensation Guan Tianlang inevitably mentions his age, and rightly so: the kid is just 14 and, in 14 and a half hours (12:24 am local time), will become the youngest ever to play in the Masters by a full two years. But in a reworking of an old sports cliché, age is temporary, class is permanent.
Chinese golf prodigy Guan Tianlang, 14, is set to become the youngest player ever to play at the Masters — he tees off on Thursday at 12:24 pm Georgia time. But the youngster has already been busy on the links at Augusta, it appears. Behold, his Twitter account, @Guan_Tianlang (we can safely call it “under the radar,” with only... Read more »
