Tianlang Guan: May the 14-Year-Old Prodigy Become a Star?

For many narrative functions, Tianlang Guan's Masters finished Saturday. The 14-year-old Chinese phenom shot his worst round of theAtournament at five-over 77, and now he tracks all but among the 61 golfers who made this year's cut. Guan will finish out the chain on Sunday, and probably land somewhere nearby the back of the pack. The crowd will applaud his work. Columnists may attack "publish" on the already-written paeans to Guan's courage. And the tennis world will begin to come back to the business enterprise of crowning a Masters champion. What Guan accomplished in getting the youngest ever to both take part in the Masters and make the cut is likely to define his career moving forward. It'll separate him from his generational peers at every turn, both as the preamble to a legendary career or even a gloomy memory of what might have been. Quite simply, Guan is no longer a 14-year-old golfera'of which there are numerous. He is the encouraging 14-year-old golfer who held his own at Augusta National...and he always will be. Rob Gross/Getty Pictures Like any sport, golf has its inner circle of prodigy chests. South African Bobby Cole created the Masters cut at 18 but never really reached recognition, settling as an alternative in to strong professional career that involved third-place finishes at the British open and PGA championship. The golfing world was stunned by ty Tryon in 2001 when he turned pro at the tender age of 16. After some initial successa'including a made cut at the Honda Opena'Tryon rapidly faded from view, and has qualified for only two major titles. In 1957, 15-year-old Canadian Bob Panasik became the youngest player ever to last all four times at a PGA tour event. Panasik never finished greater than 42nd at a major over the next 2 full decades. In the early 1970's, Floridian Eddie Pearce became the latest in a long distinct amateur sensations to make the important. Many drinks later, he completed his PGA career with just one win. For many, like Pearce, the demise was triggered by hard living. For others, it absolutely was an inability to handle pressure or a stalled system. Sergio Garcia never really learned the game's mental difficulties. Johnny Miller's club left him in short supply of massive targets. On and on the requiems go. The toughest thing to challenge with Guan is his physical growth. Than his peers in the golf prodigy set It's not just that the 14-year-old is two-to-five years younger, it is that these two-to-five years are particularly formative, and thus the hardest to estimate. Ezra Shaw/Getty Photos Basketball standout Freddy Adu was man among boys at 14. Same goes for hockey feeling Demetrius Walker, who arrived on the cover of Sports Illustrated under a hook that read, in part, "the next Lebron?" Adu and Walker stopped growing, and the real advantages that birthed their nascent celebrity quickly dissipated. Guan, for all we know, might follow the same way. This negativity should be however, approached all by us, with caution. It will continually be better to record those that fell in short supply of expectations than those that satisfied them. That is the character of superstardoma'it's special. Even the type of who appear to have the necessity abilities, the success rate willAnecessarilyAbe low. And there is good news. Run down the set of best players ever. Or, for example, run-down the list of best players in just about any activity. You will discover that many, to varying degrees, might have once been labeled as prodigies. Jack Nicklaus won the Ohio Open at age 16. Gary Player turned pro at 17. Padraig Harrington was hitting golf balls on national television when he was two. Ernie Els won the 1984 Junior World Golf Championship. Phil Mickelson finished second. Guan's job, most likely, will follow a lesser course. But his Masters perform at the very least confirms his potential, causing us to debate the inflection points that await him. We know Guan has a deft touch and refined small game. We do not know if the strength will be developed by him needed seriously to drive at a world-class level. We realize Guan held a level keel all through his Masters debut despite numerous obstacles and clear challenges. We don't understand how he'll behave over time to he that is surely awaited by the crush of attention in this rapacious media climate. We realize he seems like an inspired kid with supportive parents. We do not know how that connection, or his goals, might shift with time. That is tennis. That is life. And much as we would like to see Guan blossom, for now, all we can perform is please ourselves with the idea that the kid has a opportunity.