History was made on Thursday in China when 12-year-old Ye Wocheng made his first start at the Volvo China Open. Ye became the youngest player to compete on the European Tour and shot a 7-over 79 in his first round. At 12 years, 242 days, Ye broke the previous record held by… can you guess? Guan Tianlang! Who was just 13 years, 177 days when he played in last year’s Volvo China Open. Guan also made history last month by becoming the youngest to compete in the Masters at at 14 years old and making the cut, finishing with low amateur honors! This gave him the opportunity to play the Zurich Classic, in which he also made the cut, and also gave him a Sponsor’s invitation to play at the Byron Nelson Championship.
Ye’s coach, David Watson, has been very supportive of him. “Ye can go a long way, because he’s starting to break records now and if you look at what (world numbers one and two) Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy have achieved over the years, what he has done wasn’t even achieved by them as an amateur. If he keeps improving and keeps his dedication the world is his oyster – his ability is limitless. But, at the same time, I know it is dangerous to speculate and we must realize he is just a 12-year-old boy.”
Ye won last month’s Guangdong Junior Championships by 18 shots. Ye is a two-time winner of the US Kids Junior World Championship, beating the tournament record previously held by world number one Woods with a 12-under-par card.
Source: European Tour, BBC Sport
