WEDNESDAY
U.S. Open Daily BY PAUL MAHONEY
Tiger Woods
SAN FRANCISCO | Tiger, Phil
and Bubba prepare for their
superstar three-ball billing
but are upstaged by a 14-year-
old. Andy Zhang, born in China
but now based in Orlando,
gets his spot in the 112th U.S.
Open as an alternate thanks
to Paul Casey withdrawing
with a shoulder injury. Zhang
becomes the youngest-ever
competitor in U.S. Open history
and the youngest player in any
major since Young Tom Morris,
who was a month younger than
Zhang when he teed it up at the
British Open in 1865. “When I
got the call, my mind just went
blank,” Zhang said. “Then, I
said, ‘Wait! What? I am in the
U.S. Open?’ ”
Suddenly, 23-year-old
defending champion Rory Mc-
Ilroy, the youngest champion
for 88 years, was feeling old.
“When I was 14, I was getting
prepared to play in my club
championship, not the U.S.
Open,” McIlroy said. “So, I’m
not sure I could give him any
words of wisdom.”
There was debate about
whether someone so young
should be thrown in to compete
with the big boys. Woods was
all for giving the kid his chance.
Andy Zhang
“He qualified. He earned a
spot,” Woods said. “I tried it
when I was 15 – and failed.”
Woods said Zhang was
a glimpse of the future and
that technology was play-
ing its part. “I grew up in an
era of VHS and you always
had to adjust the tracking,”
Woods said. “These kids are
bringing iPads to the range
and watching their swing
and breaking it down. I saw
a few of these kids in Korea.
They’ve only been playing for
a year. And six months of it
was all indoors hitting balls.
They come out and they have
perfect golf swings. That’s the
new generation.” A
