GOLF/NEWS: A 13-year-old Taiwanese boy was set to make golf history early this morning when he teed it up in the Hong Kong Open to become the youngest player to take part in a European Tour event.
Lo Shih-Kai qualified for the event, which is co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour, by winning the recent Hong Kong amateur championship thanks to a closing round of 66.
A spokesman confirmed Lo is the youngest by two years to play on the 31-year-old Tour, beating the mark set by Sergio Garcia, who played in the Mediterranean Open in 1995 aged 15.
Lo recorded the lowest score of his career by carding five birdies and just one bogey over the Clearwater Bay course to win the Hong Kong amateur title.
"I just tried to enjoy myself during the final round and I wasn't expecting to win," said Lo. "So I guess I didn't really have any pressure on me."
He is competing in Fanling against six-time major winner Nick Faldo, who won the last tournament he played in Hong Kong in 1990 and is Lo's senior by 33 years. The Englishman won his first major, the British Open, two years before Lo was born.
Faldo, who runs a junior talent development scheme, said he had not even taken up the game at 13.
"These young kids are getting good and I have two girls in my junior series, one 12 and the other aged 13, both of whom are on a two handicap," he added.
"I was throwing cricket balls around when I was 13. But if this young fellow happens to make the cut and I find myself paired with him, then it should be good for the guy because it will be such a great experience."
Officials at the US PGA Tour do not have details of the youngest player to compete in one of their events, although Bob Panasik is the youngest to have made a cut. Panasik was 15 years, eight months and 20 days old when he made it through to the weekend at the 1957 Canadian Open.
