China’s Guan Tianlang Stuns World Golf

By staff reporter ZHU HONG

WHAT were you doing when you were 14 years old？ For most of us， the answer is probably something along the lines of playing PlayStation， kicking a ball with friends， or practicing a musical instrument.

For Guan Tianlang， however， the answer looks a bit different. He was playing golf – at the 2013 American Masters. And he didnt just play； he wowed.

Guan became the first Chinese and the youngest-ever competitor at the Masters to “make the cut”； that is， to be either within 50 places of the lead or 10 strokes of the leaders score after 36 holes of play. In doing so he entered the tournaments final round， during which he performed well enough to win the Sil- ver Cup for “best-performing amateur.”

Tiger Woods played a round with Guan during the Masters. One cheeky reporter decided to pose him the question，“What were you doing when you were 14 years old？” Tigers response was frank： “I was at home doing my homework.”

Memorable Debut

Golf players need to be naturally talented to succeed； hard work， while essential， will only take players so far. But even standing among the worlds most gifted players， Guan seems endowed with superhuman abilities. He took up the game at the age of four and participated in his first tournament at five. His parents remember him at eight years old watching the Masters on TV and saying he wanted to win the Masters， the U.S. Open， the British Open and the PGA Tour all within a single year.

No one has ever accomplished the“quadfecta” in a single year. Tiger Woods had won all four major championships by the age of 24， but even he was unable to tick them all off in 12 months. Guan has set himself the challenge.

Guan is nothing if not ambitious， but his high hopes are backed up by the brilliant wins hes already racked up in his short career to date. He won the Junior World Golf Championship at age 11 and the China Open at age 12. At 14， he qualified for the U.S. Masters on golfing holy ground in Augusta， Georgia. There， he was recognized as a breakout star by golfing pundits worldwide.

Guan earned his place at the Masters after gaining victory over Pan Chengtsung of Taiwan， the silver medal winner at the Asian Games， at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championships in November 2012.

Some were skeptical as to whether Guan belonged at the Masters. As USA Today wrote： “Sure， he had earned his invitation fair and square by winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur， but at age 14– and without the length to take on Augusta National like the rest of the field –there were questions about whether the experience might overwhelm him.”

Guan shot back at the skeptics with a commanding performance on the course. He finished at 12-over 300， winning 58th place for the invitation-only event. His “making the cut” was the talk of the town after the event. He lowered the record for youngest to make the cut in a major by almost two years.

“Guan somehow got around 72 holes without recording anything worse than bogey. He also finished without a threeputt for the entire tournament. It was a smashing success，” wrote USA Today. American media also noted that with his every movement in the tournament Guan was unwittingly creating history– a history that belongs to both the Augusta National Course and his home country of China. Expect more historymaking moments to come from the young golfing prodigy.

“Mature and Confident”

Guan Hanwen， Guans father， introduced his son to the game. A big fan of golf himself， Hanwen got his son into the game early by playing him video golf lessons.

The support of Guans family has been instrumental in his success. Over 10 years of practice， Guans father has been his coach and mentor， and also his agent and spokesperson. Every summer vacation Hanwen would accompany his son to the U.S. to study and practice golf for two months.

Despite putting in long hours at the golf course from an early age， Guan hasnt abandoned his school studies. Despite breaking records on the other side of the Pacific， Guan still attends middle school in Guangzhou. Monday to Friday， hes at school till five oclock every day， and practices golf for two hours after. One or two hours of homework follow. Guan， it seems， is not just a golfing talent： hes getting excellent grades at school， especially in English and Math.

Guan has won fans in China thanks to the mature way he holds himself in the public arena. At one press conference at the Masters， Guan， wearing a white Tshirt and green slacks， answered a total of 26 questions from the media in fluent English and without displaying the slightest hint of nervousness. He was the first Chinese golfer ever to attend a press conference at the Augusta National press center. His parents were sitting in at the conference， and couldnt help applauding as their son cruised through the questions.

Guan said his childhood hero was Tiger Woods. His dream for many years was to tee off with the golfing master， and it finally came true this year. At the Masters Guan played nine holes with Woods， during which he chatted excitedly with his idol. Matt Kuchar， another renowned American golfer， said he watched on in awe at the way Guan handled himself with Woods. Kuchar was once paired with Woods at age 19. He said at the time he was so nervous that all he could concentrate on was staying on the fairway. Guan， however， dealt with the pressure like a true pro. He actually outplayed Woods over the nine holes.

Both on the green and off， Guan seems to be an excellent manager of his emotions. Hes calm in all situations， whether talking to the media， teeing off with golfing legends， or chatting with boys his own age. The consensus among golf commentators is that Guan has the presence of mind and maturity to make the game his own.

Rediscovering Golf

For a long time， golf has been considered an “upper-class” sport， played by an exclusive clique of wealthy – and timerich – individuals.

In 2009， golf was set to feature at the 2016 Olympics， signifying that the game had well and truly made the jump to mainstream.

Chinese golfers have increasingly been taking it to their international competition. In 2010， Liang Wenchong tied for the eighth place at the 2010 PGA Championship. In the same year， Wu Ashun became first golfer from China to win on the Japan Golf Tour. And in 2012， Feng Shanshan became the first female player from the Chinese mainland to win a LPGA championship.

Thanks to the efforts of these trailblazers， golf has been attracting a greater following in China. By and large， however， most Chinese still regard the game as elitist. Perhaps this also has something to do with the exorbitant membership fees demanded by clubs in China. Only the rich can afford to play golf in China， the logic goes.

Or so people thought. Guans experience has made people re-evaluate their position on golf and spurred a new generations interest in the game. After all， Guan， barely a teenager and with his father as coach， managed to win the AsiaPacific Amateur Championship and gain selection for the U.S. Masters.

Such was the Chinese publics interest in Guans performance at the Masters that the China Central Television nightly news broadcast covered the event for two consecutive days. Usually， the broadcast skips sport completely to focus on domestic events.

The potential of Guan to inspire a new generation of world-beating Chinese golfers has been reported on in the Financial Times. In an article entitled “Teen Golfer Changes the Face of Chinese Sport，” the journal wrote，“Guan Tianlang has become the latest Chinese to make sporting history after the 14-year-old golfer played his way to the distinction of being the youngest ever competitor in Masters history. His achievement drew the usual congratulations and expressions of national pride on Weibo， the Twitter-like microblogging site in China.”

Weibo， like Twitter and Facebook， is generally the preserve of youth. If millions of Chinese youngsters are now getting interested in golf， perhaps the future of the sport lies in China.

pot luck

Kung Pow Chicken

Gongbao Jiding， known as Kung Pow Chicken in the West， is closely related with its eponymous official Ding Baozhen （1820-1886）， governor of Shandong Province. Ding rose to fame after executing powerful eunuch An Dehai， who， under the aegis of Empress Dowager Cixi， intervened in state affairs and abused his powers. Dings action was acclaimed by Ans opponents， including the emperor. Ding went on to have an illustrious career during which he won the good will of the people for his leadership over the flood control of the Yellow River， the Bohai Sea coastal defenses， and the establishment of the Shandong Machinery Bureau.

In 1876 he was transferred to Sichuan as governor and in that capacity he established the Sichuan Machinery Bureau， repaired the Dujiangyan irrigation system， and reformed the bureaucratic system. In 1885 when British troops occupied Burma and invaded Tibet， Ding was appointed head of the defense of the Southwest. It is during this period that he was given the honorary title Gongbao （guardian of the heir apparent）， from which Kung Pow Chickens name is derived.

While it bears his title， creation of the dish is not actually attributed to Ding himself but to his favorite cook. The story has it that one day Ding returned home very late without having eaten. The cook hastily grabbed a few handfuls of diced chicken， chili peppers and peanuts and stir-fried them. Though preparation was slapdash， Ding ate the dish with relish.

Ding brought the cook with him from Shandong when he headed for his new office in Sichuan. Peanuts produced in Sichuan were as good as in Shandong， but as there was no sweet bean paste the cook had to substitute local ingredients. He used spicy bean sauce instead and a dash of sugar， which made the taste even better.

The dish became a staple when Ding entertained colleagues in Sichuan and soon became popular.

Method：

Cut chicken crosswise into small cubes， marinate with soy sauce， salt， cooking wine， and eggwhite， and then add corn flour. Mix soy sauce， sugar， vinegar， MSG， clear chicken soup， watered bean flour together into a thick sauce. Remove the tops and seeds of the dried red chili and fry the peanuts until crisp.

Heat oil in a wok， add dried chili， pepper， diced chicken， stir- fry briefly before removing. Leave a little oil in the wok and stir-fry the dried chili， pepper and bean sauce. Add fried chicken and stir-fry for a few seconds. Add sliced ginger， onions， and the thick sauce prepared earlier. Finally add peanuts and stir again before serving.

Gongbao Chicken is popular in China for its taste and bright colors. It is also the Chinese dish that has been embraced most enthusiastically in the West， and can be found in every city in Britain and the U.S. Like spaghetti from Italy and sauerkraut from Germany， Gongbao Chicken has almost become a synonym for Chinese cuisine.