There's a new golf sensation in town after Hsieh Cheng-wei became the youngest player in history to make the cut in one of the game's major tours.
The Chinese-Tapei star was in the field for the Linkou International, and got off to a storming start on Thursday when he posted a three under par 69. His second round tailed off slightly as he finished with a 74, but at one under par, he remains in the tournament for the weekend.
At 14 years and 33 days, Hsieh broke the record of Guan Tian-lang, who made the cut at the 2013 Masters when he was 14 years and 169 days. And for context, the legendary Tiger Woods - who reportedly shot a 48 over nine holes when he was only three-years-old, was 19 when he made his first professional cut at the 1995 Masters.
Cheng-wei isn't old enough to have been able to drive home from the course after his rounds, and nor could he celebrate his new feat with an alcoholic drink. However, he wasn't about to get carried away with his performance either.
“I didn’t putt well. Didn’t hit it good off the tee especially on the back nine," he told AsianTour.com. "It’s not that tough out there. I just didn’t play my best game. I got nervous towards the end because I wasn’t playing well. I didn’t have much expectation though. I just try to play my best."
Despite his own harsh assessment, golf fans reacted favourably when the official Asian Tour Twitter account hailed the feat, writing: "Local amateur Hsieh Cheng-wei becomes the youngest male player (14 years and 33 days old) to make the halfway cut on one of the game's major Tours," along side a clapping emoji.
"Incredible!" wrote @kawaja87, while the National Club Golfer account asked: "What were you doing at 14 years old?" @acaseofthegolf1 said: "This is Hsieh Cheng-Wei. He was BORN in 2009. And he just made the cut on the Asian Tour."
The youngster will now hope to progress better than previous record holder Tian-lang, who is currently outside the top 1,900 players in the world. But his achievement on his home course will have undoubtedly made the golf work take note.
Woods of course, didn't do badly post his teenage years. The now 46-year-old went on to win 15 Major championships, and is widely considered the greatest player the game has ever seen.
