Chinese teen to make Masters history

Last updated: 4th November 2012

Chinese teenager Guan Tianlang will become the youngest ever player to compete at the US Masters next year after he won the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship by one stroke on Saturday.

The 14-year-old, who was the youngest player in the field, carded a final round 71 at Thailand's Amata Spring Country Club to finish ahead of Pan Cheng-Tsung, who shot 65.

Guan will be 14 years, five months and 17 days old when he tees off at Augusta in April next year, breaking the record as the youngest ever competitor at the event set by Italy's Matteo Manassero in 2010, who had turned 16 already at the time.

"I'm so excited. I'm really happy to become the youngest player at the Masters and looking forward to going there. I don't know what's going to happen there, but I know I just want to do well," he said after his victory on Sunday.

"Pan really did a good job, so I just needed to focus on my game and get some more birdies and keep going. I knew Pan had a really good front nine, so I was checking the scores a bit on the back nine.

"I just thought if I got a couple more birdies I would be the champion."

Guan starting playing golf at the age of four and won the world junior title in San Diego last year by a massive 11 shots.

He wrote is name in the record books earlier this year when played in the Volvo China Open in Tianjin at the age of 13 years and 177 days, to become the youngest ever competitor at a European Tour event.