In what was sure to delight Masters officials – and everyone who watched – there were more shouts of "Jia You!" (Mandarin for "Let's go!") than "Get in the hole!" Several pockets of Chinese fans trailed Guan, almost all carrying bags stuffed with Masters merchandise.
Golf's popularity, of course, is still in its infancy in China. The tours, sponsors and television are all eager to tap into that massive market, and having a home-grown star like Guan would only help. Already, Guan's followers on Weibo, China's version of Twitter, is already close to 50,000.
Guan still goes to regular public school, with English, math and history his favorite subjects. (Asked what classes he took, Guan said, "China, you don't take classes, they give you classes.") He lugged six of his textbooks along with him to Augusta and, after letting his studies slide the last few days, he planned to hit the books Sunday night.
He and his parents initially planned to directly return to China, but that all changed after he accepted an invitation to tee it up in New Orleans for another PGA Tour event. He's received several invitations to play in other events, and he and his parents are trying to decide which ones to accept. He'd also like to try to qualify for the US Open.
One thing Guan won't be doing any time soon is turning professional.
His father has said hat he wants Guan to stay an amateur because "amateurs have fun. Enjoy it." And Guan said he still has a lot to learn. Though he's got a short game any pro would envy, he knows he has to work on his distance. That's sure to change as he gets older and stronger.
"There's still a lot of things to learn to improve," Guan said. "So nothing to rush."
Well, maybe just one thing.
Asked when he thought he might like to win the Masters, he said: "As soon as possible."
There is a worry, of course, that Guan gets thrown in amongst the pros on an all too frequent basis. He has, on the strength of his Masters debut, become a star – and tournament promoters the world over will be desperate to get him to play in their events for a while to come. This Masters honeymoon will last a while. Although Guan and his guardians are quick to reassure everyone that he has no intention of becoming the golfing equivalent of a circus act, one hopes that he himself has seen what happens to young talent when its thrust upon too high a stage too early. One only has to look at Michelle Wie and Ty Tyron to see how easily it is for prodigies to become unstuck. Guan is an intelligent young man – "I don't have many problems when it comes to school work," he told me – so let's hope he takes the advice of Faldo, one of several mentors he gained over the course of his Augusta experience.
"Sure, he can play tour events," Faldo said. "But he needs to keep winning [as an amateur], to get bored winning because he’s just won everything in the amateur game. Then move over [to the pro game].
"He has growing to do – physically, mentally, all those things. Golf is a sport that we can view as a 20-year window competing at the highest level. Do you get started at 14 to go to 34? Or get started at 20 to go to 40? I think that’s the smartest thing."
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