Teenager Guan Tianlang was penalised for slow play at Augusta, but his
overall score of four over was still enough to see him become the youngest
golfer to make the cut at a major.
Guan, 14, was given the one-stroke penalty after making par on the
17th, having earlier been warned for slow play during the Masters second round.
The Chinese player said: "I respect the decision. This is what
they can do."
"Tianlang Guan's punishment is very unusual. Outside of the majors
on the PGA Tour, it was last seen in 1995 with Glen Day at the Honda Classic.
"In Europe, Ross Fisher was penalised in the 2012 Wales Open by
referee John Paramor, the same man assigned to Guan's group, so maybe it is
creeping back.
"However there is a very strong feeling among players here that
the 14-year-old has been victimised. The counterpoint to that, and I have been
contacted by an official making this point on Twitter, is that if the rule has
been broken then the penalty must be applied."
Gregory Bourdy, at the 2010 US PGA, was the last to be penalised for
slow play.
Guan carded 16 pars in total, although the one on 17 became a bogey
after the European Tour's chief referee John Paramor alerted him of the
penalty.
The teenager said he took extra time trying to gauge the tricky wind
conditions.
"This still is a wonderful experience," he said. "I
enjoyed this week so far and think I did a pretty good job."
Masters competition committee chairman Fred Ridley released a statement
explaining that the Chinese amateur and playing partners Ben Crenshaw and
Matteo Manassero were deemed out of position on the 10th hole.
Guan began being timed on the 12th hole, received his first warning
after his second shot on the 13th, then was penalised after his second shot on
the 17th "when he again exceeded the 40-second time limit by a considerable
margin".
Despite the setback, the teenager went on to par the last for a 75, to
go with his first-round 73.
He is exactly 10 shots behind tournament leader Jason Day of Australia.
Two-time winner Crenshaw said: "This is not going to end pretty.
I'm sick for him [Guan]. I feel terrible. He is 14 years old. I'm so sorry this
has happened."
Manassero held the record of being the youngest to make a major cut
when at the age of 16 he qualified for the last two days of the 2009 Open.
The Italian said Guan did take too long on his shots.
"I think it's the biggest thing he needs to be careful about,
because I think he's ready," said Manassero, who is five over for the
championship after shooting a 74.
"When the caddie pulls the club for him, I think he's ready. But
most of the times that he takes a little too long he just asks questions that I
think he knows, but just to be sure, just to be clear in his mind.
"We all feel sorry, but this is the way professional golf goes.
"This will end up being a great experience for him."
Clubhouse leader Fred Couples, the 1992 champion, was reluctant to
criticise Guan's penalty saying the rules should be applied just as strictly to
the teenager despite his tender years.
"The soft-coated answer would be I feel bad, but I also feel like
they just don't go around handing out one-shot penalties here," he said.
"I don't even know of anyone who has ever got one.
"It feels hard to give a 14-year-old a penalty, but he's in the
field. He beat a lot of guys yesterday, whatever the age he is."
Guan also became the youngest player to make the cut in a PGA Tour
event, breaking the 56-year-old record held by Canadian Bob Panasik, who was 15
when he made it through to the last two rounds of the 1957 Canadian Open.
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