Teenage prodigy Guan shines at Masters with 73(2)

While Guan played his round with a dead-pan expression, his father, Han Wen, was the head cheerleader.

The elder Guan, a physician who began showing Tianlang the rudiments of the game when he was four, exhorted "Bite, bite, bite," on his son's long approach shots and "Go, go, go," when his shots landed short on the green.

He shot a fist-pump to a friend after his son's six-foot birdie putt hit the bottom of the hole at the 10th after a 190-yard, high, soft hybrid shot into the green.

When Guan rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt at the par-five 13th after his tee shot lost distance after it deflected off a pine tree branch, the player's father threw his arms over his head, cheered and slapped a high-five with a friend from home.

John Ho, vice president of the Lion Lake Group, which includes the Lion Lake Country Club where Guan practises in Guongdong, said he was proud of the precocious Guan.

"He comes to play every day after school," he told Reuters. "His father drives him about an hour to the course and he practises until dark for about two hours. He practices all day on the weekends."

IN AWE

Others watching the impressive 14-year-old were awed by his maturity on the golf course.

Jarut Padung, 24, a PGA teaching professional at the TPC Sawgrass course in Florida, was impressed.

"It's pretty cool that he can handle it," Padung said about the pressure. "He looks so calm. It's cool to see how calm he is. I think it's incredible and I wonder how many will try to walk in his track."

Twelve-year-old David Mustard watched Guan from along the fairway at the par-four third hole, where the Chinese dropped in a 15-foot putt for birdie.

"I came down here to watch him," said Mustard, who comes from Athens, Georgia. "I can't believe he can be that good."

Guan did not let adversity get him down.

At the par-four 11th hole, he pulled his approach shot into the pond guarding the green on the left. From the drop area, he knocked a wedge shot to within three feet and converted for a brilliant bogey-save.

Crenshaw, who played a practice round with Guan on Monday, recognises the gifts that make Guan special.

"He stays well within himself, he's very confident, and obviously has beautiful hands," said Crenshaw. "His thought process never got rushed, he's very patient. Very, very, very impressive."

Guan is soft spoken and articulate, tending toward understatement though he is confident and by no means bashful.

Asked if he thought he could win the tournament, Guan, who stands seven shots off the pace, said: "I think probably not this year, but I think I can win it in the future."

When asked about his ambitions, the boy who was first inspired by watching Tiger Woods win majors on TV, envisioned outdoing his idol.

"I want to win a major and hopefully I can win the four majors in one year," he said, drawing laughs from the press corps.