(Image Source: Golf Channel )

 

BY BRIAN BONDUS

ANCHOR MEGAN MURPHY

 

Swimming, backyard football, and the Euro Cup will consume most teenage boys’ time this summer, but one fourteen-year old is making golf history instead. Golf Channel has the story.

 

“This year two amateurs got the phone call they were waiting for. One of them named Andy Zhang who will make history when he tees off Thursday at the Olympic Club as the youngest golfer to ever play in a major championship at 14.”

 

Zhang lost in a playoff in his Florida qualifier, but he was the site's first alternate and got in after Paul Casey withdrew due to shoulder problems. ESPN interviewed Zhang after he lost the playoff ... before he knew he was in the U.S. Open.

 

Analyst: “You’re almost going to qualify for the U.S. Open. Would you have believed me?"

Zhang: “I would not. I would not. Actually I would not, because last year I went back to China because my back injury. I stopped playing for half a year.”

 

Zhang is the youngest player in a major championship by almost a year at the age of 14 and six months. When Zhang got the news he was in, he said his mind went blank. A writer for golf week says...

 

“Forgive the 14-year-old for being a bit wide-eyed, but he was in a state of shock - he just became the youngest player in the history of the U.S. Open.”

 

Zhang moved to the U.S. from China to study golf four years ago. A Bleacher Report columnist says the teen will be feeling pressure from the media and his home country, but it’s the course itself that will really make Zhang sweat.

 

“Zhang will be overwhelmed by the difficult course conditions at the Olympic Club this week. The fairways will be tough to hit consistently, his short game will have to be fantastic due to the difficult greens, and hitting the water at any time would be disastrous.”

 

But don’t think Zhang won’t make the most of this opportunity. His first practice round is with Masters champion, Bubba Watson.