14-year-old to tee it up at Waialae

The Sony Open in Honolulu was the stage for a 14-year-old Michelle Wie to tee it up with the men on the PGA Tour in 2004.

Five years later and another 14-year-old has been given a chance to shine, but this time the teen is a he.

Lorens Chan earned his chance to play on the world’s biggest golf tour when he won a charity qualifier in December, beating out 11 other men. During the tournament, he shot a 67.

Chan is hoping to better the performance of Tadd Fujikawa, who was just short of his 16th birthday when he played all four rounds of the tournament in 2007 on his way to 20th place. He said on the PGA Tour website:

“It’s pretty amazing that I’m able to play in a PGA Tour event at my age. Playing with the pros is going to be a lot different. But right now it just feels like another tournament. I want to learn some stuff and have fun.”

Chan picked up the game when he was seven years old after watching his parents. The youngest of three brothers won his first national title when he was 11 and he shot a career low of 64 at Pinehurst No. 4 at the age of 12 in the US Kids Golf World Championship.

However, he has no plans to turn professional too soon. He wants to continue his studies and enjoy his teenage years before he commits to a rigorous life travelling and being in the public eye.

One thing he might have trouble getting used to is not wearing shorts at the Waialae Country Club. Though he wore shorts during a practice round, he received a memo from organisers saying they weren’t allowed during the actual tournament.


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