Andy Zhang, US Open at 14
The U.S. Open Golf Championship ended last week and while golf fans will be hearing a lot about the winner Webb Simpson, there is maybe an even bigger story for kids like us!
Remember the name of Andy Zhang. He is only 14 years old but he played in the same tournament last week as Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods. He came to the United States from China in 2008 when his mother brought him to California to play in the US Kids World Championship, which he won! Andy liked it so much here that his family moved to the U.S. soon after. It was difficult at first for Andy to get used to a new country and new language, but after a year and a half, he finally felt comfortable.
His mother has enrolled him in an on-line school, so that Andy can practice during the day and do school work after golf, where he will be a freshman in September.
To gear up for the tournament, Andy played a practice round with Masters Champion Bubba Watson, who gave him some golf tips, and even signed his first autographs this week!
Famed golf instructor David Leadbetter, who runs the golf academy where Zhang trains said that Andy’s maturity was one of the reasons why he could play in the Open, “He has a 24 year old head on a 14 year old body.” But like many other 14 year olds, he would rather watch the NBA Finals and root for Lebron James than watch golf.
Well, as good as Andy Zhang is now, and how much better he will be if he continues to work at this golf game, he did not make the final cut to play on the weekend at Olympic Country Club. He shot a 79 and 78 in the first two rounds which is really good especially for a 14 year old, but not good enough to contend with the pros. But keep an eye on Andy for a few years from now and see how his golf games improves, I plan to!
