The Zone Interactive Golf Magazine (UK) The Zone Issue 21 | Page 17

who made the cut at Augusta despite being given a one-shot penalty for slow play . Now it should be stated that Guan is a slow player - on one tee alone he took five minutes to decide which club to use . But he is a boy , playing in his first major championship , so it was not unexpected that he would want to take his time . And why pick on him ?
It was the first time in Masters history that a player has been penalised for slow play , which seems pretty strange when you consider the antics of the likes of Faldo , Brian Gay , Bernhard Langer ( who birdied the first , second and third on the final day to move within two shots of the lead ), Day and many , many others .
Most genuine lovers of the game would agree that something has to be done to speed up play , and the most likely way of achieving that is by imposing penalty strokes . But don ' t make an example of a schoolboy .
Can you imagine the furore had Guan
missed the cut by a shot ? In fairness , he took it all in his stride , and he is to be commended for doing so . As long as he is allowed to develop in his own time , there is little doubt that his appearance at Augusta is the first of many .
What is far more alarming is that he uses a belly putter . A 14-year-old can ' t possibly have problems with short putts ( the reason most golfers turn to the belly putter ). Guan is not like most boys of his age though . He spends his entire life hitting golf balls and has clearly come to the conclusion that the belly putter gives him an advantage . As it must do .
And that brings us to the winner . Adam Scott has been a world-class golfer for many years and it is to his eternal credit that he hasn ' t allowed a few near-misses to destroy his career .
Many people wrote him off when he dropped shots at each of the last four holes to hand The Open to Ernie Els
14 year old Guan Tian- Lang
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