China is fast emerging as a hotbed of young golfing talent.
14-year-old Tianlang Guan produced an astonishing display for a kid of his age at The Masters last month.
And this weekend’s China Open has seen Ye Wocheng become the youngest player ever to play in a European Tour event, aged just 12.
Legendary coaching guru David Leadbetter predicted some years ago that Asia was about to produce champions beyond anybody’s dreams.
But he points to past proteges Ty Tryon and Michelle Wie’s problems adjusting to fame as ‘teenygolfers’ as cautionary tales for the latest kids on the block.
“Michelle burst onto the scene, turning pro when she was only 15,” Leadbetter recalls.
“A year later she tied for third in three of the women’s Majors.
“Since then, however, she has had only one top 25 finish, and that was in 2011.
“Michelle got herself involved playing in the mens’ tournaments, and nobody can say that was a remotely wise decision based on her results or lack of results.
“I was never in favour of a lot of what she did, because there is always a danger of burnout.
“When I was over in South Korea two years ago, they had over 3000 girls between 14 and 18 who had scratch handicaps.
“It is just amazing what is happening over there and in China.
“But when you look at the likes of Guan, the question might be: ‘How long is he going to last?’
“Their careers are getting shorter and shorter, with boys suffering injuries the like of which we have never seen before in kids of that age.
“And teenagers can be very hard on themselves although that is a battle all golfers of any age have to learn to deal with.
“Ty Tryon became the second-youngest player to make the cut in a US Tour event at the age of 16 at the Honda Classic in 2001.
“He became the youngest player to earn a PGA Tour card by the end of that year, forcing the US Tour to raise the age limit to 18 before you could get a card.
“He had a great team around him. But when he got on Tour, it was all too much for him and he ended up scratching around the mini tours a few years later.
“It’s OK playing the odd tournament out there, but it’s a dog eat dog world.
“Ty was another child prodigy who became a train wreck.”
No question the emergence of Guan and Wocheng is one of the stories of the year.
But how will it end?
Enjoy the convenience of having The Sunday Post delivered as a digital ePaper straight to your smartphone, tablet or computer.
Subscribe for only £5.49 a month and enjoy all the benefits of the printed paper as a digital replica.
Subscribe