Move over Guan Tianlang, a 12-year-old will play on the European Tour this week

Remember when Guan Tianlang was the big story in the golfing world because of how young he was and how he was going to play in the Masters? And remember when we all freaked out, saying jokes like, “I could barely carry my own bag at 14-years-old,” when Guan arrived at Augusta National?

Yeah, that’s old news, pun intended, with the arrival of Ye Wo-cheng. The, ahem, 12-year-old amateur will become the youngest player to ever tee it up in a European Tour event this week at the China Open, being just one of four players that got through qualifying for the event at Binhai Lake Golf Club.

So who is this new pre-teen sensation?

His resume is pretty spectacular. Wo-Cheng broke Tiger Woods’ record at the US World Junior Championship in San Diego by shooting 12-under par to win the event, something he’s done twice, and he made waves in China by winning the Guangdong Junior Championship by 18 shots.

Say what you want about the youth movement in professional golf, but if Wo-Cheng is anything like Tianlang, his success will be immediate. Nonetheless, I love hearing these stories about the youngsters actually qualifying for the events instead of getting an exemption into them.

Devil Ball Golf – Golf – Yahoo! Sports