14 year old Gaun Tian Lang qualifies for the Masters

A momentous year for the development of golf in China reached a new high point yesterday (Sunday) when 14-year-old Guan Tian Lang won the 2012 Asia-Pacific Amateur Golf Championship in Thailand and qualified for the Masters next year.

The Chinese prodigy won the prestigious tournament at Amata Springs after he shot a final-round 71 for a 15-under-par total of 273 and, as the event is backed by the Augusta National Golf Club, the teenager from Guangzhou will now line up against the greats of the game in the Spring.

Back in April, Guan, a member of the HSBC sponsored China Junior Golf team, qualified as the youngest ever player to play in a European Tour Event – the 2012 Volvo China Open.

His latest achievement is yet another example of how Chinese golf is making its mark on the world game – in the summer 14-year-old Andy Zhang became the youngest player ever to qualify for a major when he took part in the US Open and in September 16-year-old amateur Jing Yan became the youngest Chinese female golfer to ever play in a major tournament when she appeared at the Ricoh Women’s British Open at Royal Liverpool.

All three players are graduates of the HSBC China Junior Golf Program, a sustainable long-term structure and framework to develop the future of Chinese golf.