14-year-old from China gets into U.S. Open when Casey withdraws

[Moecat]

http://www.golf.com/ap-news/14-year-old-chinese-player-us-open-youngest-tournament-history?sct=hp_t2_a14&eref=sihp

 

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Paul Casey has withdrawn from the U.S. Open, paving the way for a 14-year-old from China to be what officials believe to be the youngest player in championship history.

 

Andy Zhang lost in a playoff at a sectional qualifier in Florida. He was the second alternate when the week began at Olympic Club. Casey pulled out because of a recurring shoulder injury.

 

Zhang has been part of the IMG Leadbetter Academy in Florida and is based in the Orlando area. Tadd Fujikawa previously was the youngest in the modern era. He was 15 when he qualified for the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot.

 

Brandt Snedeker also withdrew Monday. Snedeker, who won at Torrey Pines earlier this year, withdrew from the Memorial after making the cut. He did not play last week at the St. Jude Classic.

 

He was replaced in the field by Jordan Spieth, who just finished his freshman year at Texas. Spieth, a two-time U.S. Junior Amateur champion, was the first alternate who missed a short putt to lose in a playoff at the Houston sectional qualifier.

[Moecat]

More on Andy Zhang:

 

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-tours-news/blogs/local-knowledge/2012/06/zhangs-trip-to-olympic-will-result-in-history.html

 

SAN FRANCISCO -- A week ago, when 14-year-old Andy Zhang headed to his U.S. Open sectional qualifier at Laconta, Fla., his father tried to be realistic about his son's chances.

 

"He said, 'Just play your best, and if you finish in the top 30, I'll be proud of you,'" Zhang recalled.

 

 

So Zhang played his best, and finished tied for third. Then came Monday, and Zhang boarded a plane from Orlando as the second alternate into the Open. Once again, expectations were modest.

 

"They told me it was 50-50 I'd get in, but I didn't think it was that good," Zhang said. "I mean, who wouldn't want to play in this tournament?"

 

Zhang received his answer around 5 p.m., Monday, when the USGA's Jeff Hall called Zhang's trainer and caddie, Chris Gold, while the two were on the putting green.

 

"Jeff called and said, 'He can play if he wants,'" Gold said. "I said, 'What does that mean?' He said, 'He's in.'"

 

Withdrawals by Paul Casey (shoulder) and Brandt Snedeker (ribs) means Zhang will be the youngest contestant in the history of the Open. It means he now has access to a courtesy Lexus he isn't old enough to drive. And it explains why he wore a look on Monday evening that was somewhere between euphoria and disbelief.

 

"I will just try to enjoy it as much as possible," Zhang said, his mouth full of braces, minutes after attaching his official player badge to the brim of his cap. "I want to play well, but just to play on a major championship course is great."

 

When Zhang's family moved to Orlando from China four years ago, their distant goal was to arrive on this stage. But they didn't expect it to happen this soon, and certainly not after he injured his back in 2010, forcing him to take a year off from golf.

 

After Zhang resumed play last summer, he enjoyed modest success on the AJGA circuit. According to Gold, who helps shepherd the teenager through the amateur circuit, it was still impressive given that Zhang was two to three years younger than most of his competition. After shooting 69 in a local qualifier, he shot 70-72 against a field stocked with Nationwide Tour players at the sectionals before losing in a playoff.

 

Zhang arrived at Olympic on Monday morning, but wasn't in the field until evening.

 

 

"I'm going to be honest, the kid doesn't get nervous," Gold said. "I wouldn't be surprised if he makes the cut. He's got so much talent."

 

Zhang wasn't so sure. He had just secured a practice round tee time with Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson for 7 Tuesday morning, and was already anticipating the magnitude of what was to come.

 

"I do get nervous, actually," he said. "I will be with all these players I watch on TV, walking right next to them. It will be great."

[Moecat]

http://www.cbssports.com/golf/blog/eye-on-golf/19334098/alternate-reality-are-you-ready-for-a-14yearold-in-the-us-open

 

SAN FRANCISCO – It's a chain reaction that will be felt all the way to Asia.

 

When PGA Tour veteran Paul Casey withdrew on Monday at the 112th U.S. Open, it opened the door for a 14-year-old player who originally hails from China to gain a spot in the field at Olympic Club.

 

It's historic stuff.

 

Andy Zhang, who now lives outside Orlando, Fla., and is coached at David Leadbetter headquarters at ChampionsGate, lost in a playoff at the Florida Sectional qualifier last week, but now will become the youngest player in U.S. Open history.

 

Zhang lost in a playoff at Black Diamond in Lecanto, Fla., last Monday. He finished with rounds of 70-72 at Black Diamond and would have been the youngest player in Open history by roughly a year, had he made the field at Olympic Club.

 

Now, it turns out it was good enough after all.

 

Andy Zhang, 14, will become the youngest golfer to play in the U.S. Open on Thursday

 

 

Zhang is 14 years and 6 months old. The youngest player to tee it up in an Open previously was Tadd Fujikawa, who was 15 years, 5 months old.

 

Zhang was already in San Francisco when the withdrawal was announced and has already signed in for the week. He is coached by Andrew Park, a longtime Leadbetter instructor, who discovered Zhang while watchng another Chinese prodigy, Mu Hu, several years ago.

 

Zhang has been in the States since he was about 10 and is already 6 feet tall, weighs 185 pounds and has a PGA Tour-level swing speed of 115 mph, Park said.

 

"Andy hits it miles and miles," Park said. "He's got a very good head on his shoulders. He couldn't speak any English when he got here, and now we can't keep him quiet. He is very outgoing."

 

Park said that Zhang has been playing in mini-tour events already in the Central Florida area, including the Moonlight Tour.

 

"He's actually been winning a bunch of those," Park said.

 

Zhang is a native of Shandong, China, and isn't set to graduate from high school until 2016.

 

He immediately signed up for practice session on Tuesday morning and will play alongside Masters winner Bubba Watson and Australian star Aaron Baddeley.

[Flv02]

Wow. This is unbelievable. To be able to qualify for a US Open at the age of 14 is something special. You better believe that I will be rooting for him this week.