AUGUSTA — Tianlang Guan’s first round at the Masters does not jump off the leaderboard because he is an amateur tied for 46th at 1-over 73.
“Until you look at him,” said Carl Jackson, a caddie for 52 years at the Masters, including 36 years for two-time champion Ben Crenshaw. “It’s a baby over there.”
Guan is 14, the youngest competitor in Masters history and, apparently, one of the calmest ones ever.
“He played like a veteran today,” said Crenshaw, who was in his grouping along with Matteo Manassero, the previous youth record holder at 16 in 2010. “He played like a 28-year-old journeyman who’s been around the block and made a ton of cuts. He played a beautiful round of golf.”
The round was a bit of a roller coaster in scoring terms, with bogeys at Nos. 1, 7, 9, 11 and 14, and birdies at Nos. 3, 10, 13 and 18.
“I feel great to play the first round here,” said Guan, who is from China and had a translator next to him, but answered almost every question in English. “Just a little bit nervous on the first tee, but I hit a great tee shot on it and after that I just felt comfortable.”
Asked if anything gets him too excited or out of control, he said, “Not today.”
“I think I got enough things ready for today, and I just feel comfortable, relaxed this morning. So it’s good.”
Guan was very good, particularly with his chipping and putting. Jackson observed that the teen didn’t show a lot of emotion, “he just stayed in his shoes.”
“He played about four of the most beautiful, delicate pitches you’ve ever seen,” said Crenshaw, 61, praising the Guan’s “soft hands,” patience, golf smarts and confident demeanor.
Guan answered questions afterward with brevity and humility. A lot about this week has been “great,” including playing the first round. Playing a practice round with Crenshaw and getting tips were “great,” as was the assistance of Guan’s caddie, a local man named Brian Tam.
In other words, he sounds like a lot of 14-year-olds. He just doesn’t play golf like any.
While he thinks winning this year already is out of reach, Guan believes he can win a future Masters — and more.
“I want to win a major and, hopefully, I can win the four majors in one year,” Guan said, sounding very grown up.
But just like other eighth-graders, Guan has homework. His parents said Thursday that their son has school work to do every day, but he’s going to get a break after the first round because he has an early tee time (9:06 a.m.) for the second round today.
Other amateurs
Guan had by far the best day among the six amateurs in the 93-player field. Steven Fox, 22, who won the 2012 U.S. Amateur, posted a 4-over 76. T.J. Vogel (2012 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion) and Nathan Smith (2012 U.S. Mid-Amateur) tied for 80th at 5 over.
Michael Weaver, the runner-up to Fox, carded a 78, while British Amateur champion Alan Dunbar had a rough outing with an 83 for last place.
Smith is the only amateur with Masters experience, as it is his fourth. He has yet to make a cut, but the four-time U.S. Mid-Amateur titlist (for players 25 and older) is determined to do better.
“My goal was to try to make the weekend, and I’m going to stick to that,” said Smith, 34, an investment adviser from Pittsburgh.
Vogel, 22, was playing before much, much bigger galleries than he has seen playing for the University of Florida.
“For our home tournament, we get a few hundred out there,” Vogel said. “There’s like 40,000, 50,000 people here. I mean, I probably know a hundred of them.”
Vogel admitted he had trouble sleeping on Wednesday night, requiring some over-the-counter medication that “knocked me out.”
He was too nervous Thursday morning to finish his breakfast of french toast, oatmeal and fruit, but he is so happy to be at Augusta National and playing in the Masters.
“It is way better than I thought,” he said. “This experience, I can’t even explain in words. I’m just having such a great time playing in front of so many people, and it’s just a really cool feeling when you know you hit a great shot and you’ve got people cheering for you. And I’m not used to that yet. It’s just really cool.”
Nathan Dominitz is a sports reporter for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at 912-652-0350 or nathan.dominitz@savannahnow.com.