Tianlang Guan assessed slow-play penalty at Masters, now hovering on cut line

Tianlang Guan has an outside shot at becoming the youngest golfer ever to make the cut at the Masters -- though a one-stroke penalty for slow play could cost him that chance.

The 14-year-old from China finished Friday’s second round with a 3-over 75 -- 4-over for 36 holes, which, by the time he canned his par putt on the 18th hole, was exactly on the projected cut line (he also has chance make via the 10-shot rule). The penalty -- the first one assessed on a PGA Tour player since 1995, well before he was born, is sure to cause an uproar around the world were Guan to miss the cut.

Should Guan find himself in the mix come Saturday, he will overtake Matteo Manassero in the history books. Manassero was almost 17 when he made the cut at Augusta in 2010.

Guan, a slim eighth-grader has been the talk of this year’s tourney after qualifying for the Masters by winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in November and shooting a 1-over 73 in his first competitive round on Thursday. The teen, who appears mature beyond his years, has faced his stint on the most prestigious stage in golf with amazing composure.

“I was a little bit nervous on the first tee, but I hit a great tee shot and after that everything felt comfortable,” Guan told reporters after his first round, in which he striped one down the center of the fairway with his maiden shot on No. 1.

Guan arrived at Augusta about a month before the Masters began. Now, after all the preparation and hoopla, it all comes down to a waiting game for the youngster.

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