SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― Andy Zhang walked over to the driving range as just another teenager wanting an autograph from his favorite players. Instead, he had the gallery at The Olympic Club asking for his signature.
Welcome to the U.S. Open, kid.
All of 14 years old and preparing to start the ninth grade, Zhang is believed to be the youngest player in championship history. He was born in China and has lived in Florida since 2008, and about the only place he doesn’t show his age is on the course.
Heading to the driving range before his practice round Tuesday morning with Masters champion Bubba Watson and Aaron Baddeley was another story. Zhang was so giddy that his caddie, Chris Gold, had to calm him down.
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Andy Zhang takes part in a practice round at the U.S. Open on Tuesday. (AP-Yonhap News) |
“I was like, ‘Chris, can I go out on the range and ask for autographs?’” Zhang asked. “He said, ‘No. Today, you’re giving out the autographs.’”
After shedding some early nerves on the unleveled Lake Course, Zhang settled into a grove and even outdrove his more accomplished counterparts on occasion. By the end of the round, his smile ― behind those big braces, of course ― lit up the gallery and had everyone from Tiger Woods to Rory McIlroy wondering the same question.
Who is this kid?
“When I was 14, I was getting prepared to play in my club championship, not the U.S. Open,” said McIlroy, who set the tournament scoring record at 16-under 268 last year at Congressional. “So I’m not sure I could give him any words of wisdom.”
Zhang’s journey already has taken him around the planet.
He was born in Shandong, China, and started playing tournaments in the United States at age 10, when he won his division in the Junior World championship at Torrey Pines. Zhang took a trip with a friend to the David Leadbetter Golf Academy in the Orlando area shortly after and moved there four years ago without knowing a word of English.
Zhang taught himself the language.
“It was kind of funny because he would go to school and he would say hello and goodbye and that’s it,” Leadbetter instructor Andrew Park said by phone from Florida.
“The following day he would say, ‘A, B, C.’ Eventually, we couldn’t keep him quiet his English was so good.”
The evolution of Zhang’s golf game also has been a natural progression.
Zhang lost in a playoff at a sectional qualifier in Florida and was the second alternate when the week began at Olympic Club. His father traveled back to China on business this week, but Zhang, his mother and caddie still showed.
