YOUTH MOVEMENT

The list of teen sport prodigies who've crashed and burned is long. Professional sport, golf included, is a dog eat dog world and no place for children. Or is it?

“Definitely that’s just a number. He’s not that age, you know what I mean? He was 14, but he didn't act for sure like a 14-year-old. So there are guys they actually are at that age, but they’re forward.”

These words of wisdom about teen sensation Guan Tianlang making the field, and the cut, at the Masters earlier this year come not from one of the game’s elderly sages but a fellow phenom, the now 20-year- old Matteo Manassero.

Manassero played the Masters in 2009 at the age of 16, then a record, and was a two time European Tour winner before his 20th birthday (he has since added a third title to his resume).

But Manassero and Guan are just two of a host of seemingly younger and younger players, both men and women (or should that be boys and girls?) playing, and succeeding, at the highest levels.

19-year-old Jordan Spieth won the PGA TOUR’s John Deere Classic the week before this year’s Open Championship, becoming the youngest PGA TOUR winner in 82 years.

Our own Jason Day set the Web.com Tour record as youngest ever winner when he claimed the 2007 Legend Financial Group Classic at just 19.

Lexi Thompson, who qualified for the US Women’s Open at 12 and turned professional at 15, won her first LPGA title at the age of 16 setting a then record as the youngest player ever to win on that tour.

Less than a year passed, however, before that milestone was surpassed by 15-year-old New Zealand sensation, Lydia Ko.

Ko’s victory in the 2012 Canadian Open was made more remarkable by the fact that 19 of the top 20 players in the world were in the field.

The now world number one Inbee Park was runner-up that week, three strokes behind Ko.

Of course the Canadian victory came just seven months after she set the all time record, for men or women, as the youngest player in history to win a professional tournament.

Ko was just 14 when she won the 2012 NSW Women’s Open, an event she finished second in the previous year at the age of 13.

Ko’s victory in Sydney broke the record of another teen star, Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa.

Ishikawa previously held the record for youngest player to win a professional event when he took out the Munsingwear Cup on the Japan Golf Tour in 2007 at the age of 15 years, eight months.

Other teen standouts in recent years have included China’s Andy Zhang, who got into the 2012 US Open field as first alternate.

The then 14-year-old is the youngest ever to tee up in a US Open.

He missed the cut at Olympic but not so 17-year-old Beau Hossler who made plenty of headlines, especially when he briefly took the outright lead during the third round.

Here in Australia many watched incredulous last year as 18-year-old Oliver Goss defeated 21-year-old fellow amateur Brady Watt in a five hole playoff for the John Hughes Geely/Nexus Risk Services West Australian Open.

Do all these performances suggest that players these days might just be ready to tackle the upper echelons of the game at an earlier age?

The answer to that, according to many, might just be yes.

“If you take a kid at 15 years old,” six time major winner Nick Faldo said recently, “there’s almost a blueprint on how to play this game.

“What I mean by that is they have this knowledge, it’s not a guess anymore. In our era we were still guessing

“Don’t lift weights, because you didn't know what to do, you get too big, too tight.

"Well, now the physiotherapists on Tour are doctors.

“It’s fascinating when you come and say, well, this muscle is not working.

"They tell you why it’s not firing. They give you the rehab, they give you the exercises.

“Physically, we know how to train. We know. It’s not a guess. Technically, the coaching has really improved.

“And obviously on the mental side, it’s very important to have a sports psychologist, and a sports psychologist understands all your neurons, whatever you want to know.

“So that’s what I’m saying, these days the young players, they know it all.”

There is no doubt improvements in sport science, coaching methods and understanding how the human body and mind work have all contributed to

younger athletes performing well in adult sports.

But that doesn't mean every child with a bit of talent is capable of making it in the big leagues.

The PGA TOUR and LPGA Tour in the US both have minimum age requirements for membership (The PGA Tour of Australasia does not.)

Players can petition to be allowed to join earlier but need to make a strong case to be accepted.

“Your career isn't going to end at 18,” LPGA Tour Commissioner Mike Whan said on the subject in 2011.

“It is a journey, not a sprint and sometimes people recognise that the hard way.

“Give me the list of players you think had their greatest years between the ages of 15 and 18.

“I’m sure when Tiger Woods was 15 people were saying he was ready.

And maybe he was. But no one is going to look back at those years and say his best was when he was 15.”

For every Lydia Ko or Guan Tianlang there are dozens, if not hundreds, of youngsters who fail to make the grade.

Those good enough to get there, however, have never had a better chance at success.

Feng Shanshan headlines China Ladies Open

BEIJING -- LPGA Championship winner Feng Shanshan of China will spearhead a group oflocal stars to challenge some of the best women golfers from the Korean LPGA at the HyundaiChina Ladies Open from Dec 13-15, organizers said on Thursday.

As the final stop of the 2013 Chinese LPGA Tour, the China Ladies Open will offer record prizemoney of $400,000 at the Shizi Lake Golf Club in Qingyuan, Guangdong province.

The CLPGA and KLPGA co-sanctioned tournament will also attract the top 40 ranked golfersfrom South Korea, including the KLPGA's order of merit leader Jang Ha-na and two-timechampion Kim Hye-youn.

South Korean golfers have dominated the tournament since its debut in 2006, but the 24-year-old Feng, who won the season-ending LPGA Titleholders tournament in Florida last month tocapture her third career tour crown, is expected to break the Koreans' monopoly.

Feng is not alone, as rising young stars Li Jiayun and CLPGA champion Lin Xiyu are potentialcontenders for the title after a successful season on the CLPGA.

The China LPGA Tour tournament has been a good barometer for future success.

Former world No 1 Tseng Ya-ni from Chinese Taipei, South Korea's Choi Na-yeon, 2012 BritishOpen winner Shin Ji-yai and 2012 Evian Masters champion Park In-bee all competed at theevent before rising to stardom on the LPGA Tour.

Zach Johnson grabs first-round lead in Northwestern Mutual World Challenge

In an event featuring some of the best golfers in the world -- whether it is viewed as ending the 2013 season or getting a jump on the 2014 season -- Zach Johnson took a one-shot lead Thursday at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

The 18-player Northwestern Mutual World Challenge -- known to many as "Tiger's Tournament'' in honor of host Tiger Woods -- Johnson carded birdies on four of the five par-5 holes to help fashion a 5-under-par round of 67 in the first round of the four-day, 72-hole tournament.

That gave Johnson a one-shot lead over Matt Kuchar, who used an eagle at No. 11 and a birdie on the final hole in highlighting a 4-under round of 68, putting him one shot behind Johnson. Hunter Mahan and Bubba Watson are tied for third at 2-under 70 with Woods alone in fifth at 1-under 71.

Johnson carded birdies at 1 and 2 and a bogey at 7 to make the turn at 1 under. On the back nine he had birdies at 10, 11, 13, 14 and 16 before making a bogey on the final hole. Kuchar had birdies at 5 and 6 but bogeys at 7 and 8. A birdie at 9 and the eagle at 11 was followed by a birdie at 13, bogey at 17 and a birdie at 18.

Graeme McDowell and Jim Furyk are at even-par 72, with Rory McIlroy, Bill Haas and Webb Simpson all at 73. Auburn's Jason Dufner joins Steve Stricker and Lee Westwood at 74. Dustin Johnson and Keegan Bradley are at 75, with Ian Poulter and Jason Day at 76 and Jordan Spieth at 77.

Friday's tee times start at 11:30 a.m. CST with Spieth and Day. The rest finds Bradley and Poulter (11:41), Dufner and Stricker (11:52), Westwood and Dustin Johnson (12:03), Haas and Simpson (12:14), Furyk and McIlroy (12:25), Woods and McDowell (12:36), Mahan and Watson (12:47) and Zach Johnson and Kuchar (12:58).

Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez is larger than life at Fanling

Honey, I've shrunk the Hong Kong Open - yes it seemed as if some mad scientist had got his way with the city's oldest professional sporting event with a magic potion for it was a strange new world at Fanling on Thursday.

The crowds were fewer in numbers. The VIP marquee tents, which had been double-decker stands at previous editions, had shrivelled in size.

The hospitality tents of other corporate sponsors were conspicuous by their absence. Even the sandwiches in the media centre seemed to have shrunk.

Thank heavens then for one constant - Miguel Angel Jimenez and his cigar.

The defending champion, who has played here every year since 2004, lit up immediately after a modest opening round of even-par 70, six shots behind leaders David Higgins of Ireland, and the smoke from his Cuban brought back memories of when the fairways were heaving and the players were mobbed.

Jimenez on Thursday had his faithful few asking for autographs. So did China's teenage prodigy Guan Tianlang, and of course, John Daly.

But by and large, the rest of the field were anonymous and made up of the rank-and-file of the Asian Tour with a few European Tour professionals sprinkled around.

Higgins is one such player. Having lost his tour card in Europe last season, he then failed to win it back in Q-school. That has made the 41-year-old from Cork hungry and he revelled in the perfect conditions at Fanling.

"I love this course for it rewards the guy who hits the fairways," said Higgins after making nine birdies and three bogeys in his opening round.

"It is a great start, but there is a long way to go. I had a disappointing end to my season and this is the perfect start for me. But I need to keep it up."

Higgins leads by one from Italy's Andrea Pavan and by two shots from a bunch of seven players, including Singaporean Lam Chih Bing, who was second on the reserve list, but found himself suddenly in the thick of the action after Finland's Joonas Granberg was disqualified for not making his tee-off time after his caddie had gone to the wrong tee.

Lam still might not have made it if not for his friend Anthony Kang, the first alternate, deciding to caddy for Unho Park thinking that no place would open up. All this added to the surreal surroundings on the opening day.

But it was business as usual for Jimenez, who puttered around the familiar surroundings - this being his 10th consecutive visit - to finish on an even-par 70, six shots adrift of the leader.

If not for three-putting for a bogey at the 18th hole, the Hong Kong favourite would have been happier.

"I need more putts. My hitting is good, but my putting was not all that great," said Jimenez, who is seeking to win his fourth Hong Kong Open title. He has a lot to do, but seemed unfazed as he contentedly puffed on his cigar.

"There are three more days to go. A lot can happen. What I need now is rest," said the Spaniard before wandering off with his girlfriend Susanne.

Last year Jimenez collected US$330,000 for winning the tournament. If he repeats that feat on Sunday, it will be US$216,660. Even that has shrunk.

McIlroy and McDowell fluff opening lines

RORY McILROY'S Aussie bandwagon shuddered to a halt in Southern California on a day in which even Sherwood specialist Graeme McDowell and tournament host Tiger Woods appeared to struggle on unpredictable greens.

After McIlroy's brilliant smash-and-grab victory against Adam Scott at Royal Sydney last Sunday, the chill of Northern Hemisphere winter crept into his game as the Hollywood star ground out a lacklustre first-round 73 at Tiger's World Challenge.

Though play was delayed by frost, McDowell, playing with McIlroy in the first group, made a hot start to his title defence with back-to-back birdies on the opening holes.

Yet the Portrush ace, who has two wins, a second place and has banked $3m in just three visits to this lucrative end-of-season jolly in Thousand Oaks, found it difficult to measure the pace of birdie and par putts as he shot an even-par 72.

The small, already tricky greens at Sherwood may have taken a tad too much punishment from recent cold weather in the Santa Monica Mountains. Not that Zach Johnson, runner-up to Woods here in 2011, was troubled as he raced clear with a five-under 67. Woods, however, had some difficulty on the greens and signed for a first round 71 after missing a short birdie putt at the last hole despite hitting his approach to just three feet from the pin.

McDowell was nicely placed at two-under through seven before three-putt bogeys at eight and 12 undid some good work by the Ulsterman, especially at the par-five fifth and 11th. GMac dropped another shot out of the oaks to the left of the 14th fairway as he failed to break par for the first time in 13 rounds at Sherwood.

McIlroy, who hit his tee shot into the water short of the green at the signature par-three 15th for his fifth bogey of the day, still pulled off a morale boosting par-save by holing out from six feet to save par at the last.

Elsewhere, weeks after losing his full European card by less than €20,000, David Higgins scooted into the lead at the Hong Kong Open with a phenomenal 64, his lowest round on any Tour in 13 years.

Higgins, 41 last Sunday, knows he must take best advantage of limited opportunities to play on the main European circuit this season – especially if the golf course fits his eye as nicely as Fanling.

"It's playing like the type of course I grew up playing," explained the Waterville man. "You have to be careful because the ball kind of runs off the edges of greens, which are playing quite hard. It's as close to an inland links as you'll get.

"It suits my game," added Higgins who, at six-under, led Challenge Tour champion Andrea Pavan (24) of Italy by one. Higgins had nine birdies, but Peter Lawrie didn't make one as he stumbled to a dispiriting seven-over 77, so the Dubliner faced the grim prospect of his 11th missed cut in 13 events.

Recent Q-School Graduate Kevin Phelan opened with a solid 70 to lie on even par with defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Finn Jonas Greenberg was disqualified when he missed his 11.50 tee time after going to the first instead of 11.

Meanwhile, former Irish Open champion Simon Dyson (35), was yesterday handed a two-month ban, which was suspended for 18 months, and fined almost €36,000 by the European Tour following his disqualification from October's BMW Masters.

The Yorkshireman was found in "serious breach" of the European Tour's code of behaviour by a three-man disciplinary panel called to investigate an incident on the eighth green during his second round at Lake Malaren, when Dyson tapped down a spike mark on the line of his putt.

Though acknowledging "the extreme seriousness of the offence," the panel suspended Dyson's ban because there was no history of misconduct during his 14 years on Tour and they viewed the incident as "a momentary aberration."

They also determined that Dyson's "conduct and the panel's decision will have caused and will continue to cause detriment" to him.

Dyson, who counts the 2011 Irish Open at Killarney among six Tour wins, also was ordered to pay €8,962 towards the cost of the proceedings.

Fowler excited to play in Thailand despite Bangkok turmoil

American Rickie Fowler is excited to be making his first trip to Thailand next week and is not put off by the political upheaval in Bangkok that has already led to the postponement of a major motorsport event.

Tens of thousands of protesters have flooded the streets of the Thai capital in an attempt to bring down the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and five people have been killed in clashes over the past week.

The turmoil caused organisers of the Race of Champions motorsport event in Bangkok to call off the event but the Thailand Golf Championship tournament in Chonburi (around 75 km east of the capital) is expected to go ahead as scheduled.

"I haven't caught too much on TV. I've heard a little bit of the news. I'm not too worried about it. I'm excited to come see Bangkok," the 24-year-old told reporters in a conference call on Thursday.

"I've heard a lot of good things, and I trust that everyone with the tournament and everyone organising the event will look after us quite well and we'll be just fine."

Swede Henrik Stenson, winner of the Race To Dubai and U.S. FedExCup in 2013, reigning U.S. Open champion Justin Rose, defending champion Charl Schwartzel of South Africa, Spain's Sergio Garcia and American Bubba Watson are the other big names playing at Amata Spring Country Club next week.

MORE TOURNAMENTS

The 2013 campaign has been a difficult one for Fowler and the former number one-ranked amateur feels a few tweaks to his game should put him in a better place for the next season.

"This past year was a little slow for me. I would have liked to have been in contention a little bit more," Fowler, who will turn 25 in Thailand next week, said.

"A little bit more just kind of general, working on my swing a little bit, and trying to get things a little more efficient and consistent.

"Outside of that, I'm going to play a few more tournaments next year."

And with 2014 being a Ryder Cup year, the American, currently ranked 41 in the world, has another major incentive to improve his performance to seal a second appearance at the prestigious team matchplay event.

"It's definitely one of my main goals for the year. I'd like a chance to play in my second Ryder Cup," Fowler, who made an accomplished debut in 2010 but failed to make the U.S. team last year, said.

"So, you know, keeping good momentum, getting into a good rhythm going into the year, it's definitely key. A lot can happen in golf.

"You get to get some confidence and a good rhythm going, a lot of good things can happen."

Golf shorts: Jess Hall shining brightly at Barnard Castle

RAPIDLY improving teenage golfer Jessica Hall has continued her rise to prominence after claiming a status as a category one golfer.

Hall, dreaming of following in the footsteps of North Yorkshire's Solheim Cup hero Jodi Ewart on the professional scene, continues to move up the ranks in the golfing world.

The Barnard Castle School pupil, from Witton-le-Wear, has seen her handicap reduced from nine to five during a special 2013, which has seen her selected as one of eight girls for England Golf North winter coaching at Matfen Hall.

At the junior end of the game Hall’s successes came in the England Under-15s championship, held at Tavistock in Devon, where she was in the top 20.

Despite her young age, she was part of the Durham County Under-18 girls’ team against Yorkshire,Northumberland and Lancashire. The team won all of their matches for the first time ever, with Hall winning against both Yorkshire and Northumberland and halving against Lancashire.

She was also part of the Durham County Schools’ team in the North of England Championships, whilst she also played for the Barnard Castle School team that narrowly lost the County Team Championship.

And at senior level, Hall finished top ten in the National Ladies Grand Medal Final at Northampton after finishing fourth in the Northern Regional Finals and she qualified for the knock out stages of the Durham Ladies County Championships. In the Bishop Auckland Ladies’ Club Championship, Hall missed out on being Ladies champion by one shot, playing the last 30 holes in three over par.

Hall is determined to develop her talent further and her school, Barnard Castle, allow her to go to Barnard Castle Golf Club regularly. She also benefits from working with the school’s strength and conditioning coach, Andy Woodward.

HALL is among a clutch of North-East youngsters who England performance chiefs are challenging to fulfil the potential which has earned them call-ups.

This column revealed last month how 16 talented youngsters from the region had been selected for England Golf’s North Under-16 regional coaching squad.

They include Hexham’s Matty Lamb, who won the Sir Henry Cooper Junior Masters, and Durham’s Hall, who qualified for last year’s England Grand Medal Final.

This is the first rung on the ladder of England Golf’s national coaching structure and the squads will train over the winter months with a mix of group coaching, matches and one-to-one sessions with their coaches.

The boys will work with Kendal McWade while the girls will be coached by JJ Vallely. Their strength and conditioning coach is Teleri Hamilton.

“We aim to give our talented young players the best golf development experience available,” said Nigel Edwards, England Golf’s Performance Director.

“In return, we expect the players to commit themselves to a programme of golf coaching and physical training that will set them up for life.”

There are boys and girls Under-16s training squads in a total of ten regions.

The girls are made up of Briony Bayles (Bishop Auckland), Aimee Goodlad (Castle Eden), Jessica Hall (Bishop Auckland), Kitana Hollins (Ramside), Niamh Lendrum (Parklands), Natasha Slater (Furness), Alexandra Stevenson (Beamish Park) and Caitlin Whitehead (Kendal) And the boys sessions will include Jack Ainscough (Castle Eden), Benjamin Bailey (Wynyard), Matty Lamb (Hexham), Ryan Lamb (Boldon), William Skipp (Eaglescliffe), Nicholas Sowerby (Appleby), Cameron Wallace (Seaton Carew) and James Wilson (Close House).

Westwood admits major focus

Lee Westwood wants to improve every aspect of his game as he continues to search for his maiden major title.

The former world number one re-united with his former swing coach Sean Foley in June this year and the 22-time winner on the European Tour is confident that Foley's influence will help him to finally win one of golf's blue riband events.

The 40-year-old has finished in the top 10 at a major on 16 occasions, eight of which were a top three placings, and admitted to Reuters on Wednesday that winning one the four feature tournaments is his primary objective in the coming years.

"Winning a major is probably the pinnacle of everybody's career," Westwood said during his preparation for this week's Northwestern Mutual World Challenge, where he is a 25/1 favourite with Paddy Power to lift the trophy.

"My focus heading into next year will be to just work on everything really, just try and improve every aspect of my game. That's what you've got to plan on doing, keep doing.

"My swing hasn't been in sync all of this year, really and I've sort of been fumbling my way around the golf course. It's something I'm going to work on over the winter.

"It feels pretty comfortable working with him," Westwood said of his work with Foley.

"When you look at what Sean has achieved with Tiger and Justin (Rose), you've got to say he is in the top drawer as a coach. He obviously knows his stuff.

"After so long without a coach I felt I was getting a little bit out of synch.

"The idea of linking up with Sean was to get back to swinging the way I used to.

"Every time I had heard him talk about the swing and also when I spoke to him, I liked what he said, so ... if you like the way a coach teaches, that's a massive part of the battle."

With several of the world's best players taking part in California this week, Westwood will have his work cut out to win his first tournament of the year. Check out the the latest betting odds with Paddy Power and back the Englishman or any of the other favourites, like Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy or Graeme McDowell.