过去20年来，随着中国新生的富裕阶层不断成长壮大，高尔夫球运动也越来越受欢迎。由于相关土地交易受到质疑，中国政府多次下达针对新建高尔夫球场的禁令。不过这几乎丝毫没有妨碍高尔夫球运动的发展。14岁的关天朗经过一路拼搏，成为美国高尔夫球大师赛(Masters)史上最年轻的参赛选手，运动史上又一个中国英雄由此诞生。

　　Guan Tianlang has become the latest Chinese hero to make sporting history after the 14-year-old golfer played his way to the distinction of being the youngest ever competitor in Masters history.

　　14岁的关天朗经过一路拼搏，成为美国高尔夫球大师赛(Masters)史上最年轻的参赛选手(编者注：关天朗还荣获了最佳业余球员奖)。运动史上又一个中国英雄由此诞生。

　　But the teenage amateur’s background is far from the typical rags-to-riches, product of a state sporting system story usually prerred by the Communist party. And that has not escaped the notice of many Chinese social media users.

　　不过，这位少年业余球员的背景，与举国运动体制培养出来的选手大不相同。后者往往出身普通，靠国家的栽培取得卓越的成就，这样的成才经历是中共更喜欢宣传的。在中国的社交媒体上，许多网友都注意到了这种不同。

　　His achievement drew the usual congratulations and expressions of national pride on Weibo, the Twitter-like microblogging site which has millions of users in China. “@guantianlang, you are the hope of golf in China,” offered one user on Friday.

　　在中国拥有上千万用户的社交网站新浪微博(Weibo，中国版推特(Twitter))上，许多网友对关天朗的成就表示了通常的祝贺，并称关天朗让中国人自豪。上周五的一条微博写道：“@关天朗，你是中国高尔夫的希望。”

　　There were, however, also those who saw a different significance in Guan’s success in capitalism’s favourite game.

　　然而，对关天朗在这个资本主义世界最喜欢的运动中取得的成功，还有一些人有不同的看法。

　　“This is rich people’s playthings,” grumbled one Weibo user on Friday.

　　上周五的一条微博不满地写道：“这是富人的游戏。”

　　“He has got to be a rich family kid,” said another.

　　另一条微博写道：“他一定是个富二代。”

　　The plush surroundings of Lion Lake Country Club in Guangzhou, where Mr Guan took up the game and has worked hard to perfect it, are indeed in stark contrast to the bare walls of the government academies where China churns out its Olympians.

　　广州狮子湖乡村俱乐部，是关天朗开始参加高尔夫球运动并努力精进球技的地方。俱乐部里的豪华陈设，与培养了无数奥运会选手的中国官方体校里光秃秃的墙壁形成了鲜明对比。

　　The course is a playground for China’s swelling country club class. A single weekend round at the club costs about a quarter of the province’s average monthly salary. “Almost all [members] are middle class or above,” said Bao Jiuhui, deputy manager at the club.

　　这个高尔夫球场，是供中国不断膨胀的乡村俱乐部阶层休闲消遣的地方。在这个俱乐部打一场周末比赛，花费约为广东省人均月收入的四分之一。俱乐部副总经理鲍久辉表示：“几乎所有(会员)都属于中产阶级或上层阶级。”

　　According to Susan Huang, a reporter for Golf Digest’s Hong Kong edition, Guan Tianlang is part of a new generation of teenage golfers in China. In the southern city of Shenzhen alone there are 70-80 teenage golfers competing regularly, she says, and teenagers are a common sight on the links in other big cities like Beijing and Shanghai.

　　根据《高尔夫文摘》(Golf Digest)香港版记者Susan Huang的报道，关天朗代表了中国新一代的少年高尔夫球手。她表示，仅在华南城市深圳一地，就有七、八十名少年高尔夫球手定期参加比赛，而在北京上海等其他大城市的高尔夫球场上，少年球手的身影也屡见不鲜。

　　But the young Guan remains unusual, according to Ms Huang. He started professional training at an early age and has been competing with adults for years.

　　不过Susan Huang表示，年少有为的关天朗仍是个罕见的例子。他很小就开始参加专业训练，几年前就开始参加成人赛事。

　　That pedigree has shone through at the Masters. The gangly teenager shot 73 in his first round on Thursday to remain in contention for the weekend’s final two rounds, despite being penalised a shot on Friday for slow play. His partner – two-times Masters winner Ben Crenshaw – shot 81. “He played like a veteran today,” Mr Crenshaw declared afterwards.

　　这种背景令关天朗在美国大师赛上十分引人注目。在上周四的第一轮比赛中，这位瘦削的少年打出了73杆的好成绩。尽管由于慢打在周五被罚一杆，但关天朗最终成功晋级，获得了参加周末最后两轮比赛的资格。与他同组的两届大师赛冠军本·克伦肖(Ben Crenshaw)在那一轮打出了81杆的成绩。克伦肖赛后宣称：“他今天的表现就像是一员老将。”

　　Mr Guan is not wholly unknown in his homeland. His 20,000 followers on Weibo is impressive for a 14-year old but he lags far behind China’s sporting superstars, such as tennis player Li Na, who has more than 21m followers.

　　关天朗在他的祖国也不算是完全默默无闻。作为一个14岁少年，他在新浪微博上2万的粉丝数目令人瞩目。不过，这在中国体育界的超级巨星面前是小巫见大巫。比如说，网球选手李娜在新浪微博上就有逾2100万粉丝。

　　As a new affluent class has grown in China over the past two decades so too has the popularity of golf. Amid controversy over shady land deals, the government has repeatedly tried to ban the construction of new courses at times. But that has done little to stymie the growth of the sport.

　　过去20年来，随着中国新生的富裕阶层不断成长壮大，高尔夫球运动也越来越受欢迎。由于相关土地交易受到质疑，中国政府多次下达针对新建高尔夫球场的禁令。不过这几乎丝毫没有妨碍高尔夫球运动的发展。

　　With golf set to feature at the 2016 Olympics, both the sport and its sponsors will be hoping Guan Tianlang is another catalyst for growth.

　　高尔夫运动已成为2016年奥运会比赛项目，因此，高尔夫运动及该运动的赞助商都将对关天朗寄以厚望，希望他能够进一步促进该运动蓬勃发展。

　　The course ahead is likely to have its challenges. Golf is riddled with tales of teenage prodigies who promised much but failed to cut it as professionals, often wilting under the pressure of sponsor expectations.

　　不过，高尔夫运动的发展未来可能仍将面临一些挑战。高尔夫球领域流传着许多少年神童的传说，他们都曾被寄予厚望，但成为职业球员后却表现平平，往往因为无法承受赞助商的期待带来的压力而成绩一落千丈。

　　“He has to play the long game from a commercial point of view, and do fewer, bigger endorsements,” says Andy Sutherden, global practice director at Hill+Knowlton, the branding consultancy. “Put golf first, second and third.”

　　品牌咨询公司伟达公关(Hill and Knowlton)全球业务总监安迪·萨瑟登(Andy Sutherden)表示：“从商业的角度来说，他必须把眼光放得更长远一些，为较少数量的知名品牌做代言。他关注的第一、第二和第三位问题，都应该是高尔夫球运动本身。”

　　Tiger Woods’ own path from prodigy to a veteran trying to overcome the disintegration of his personal life offers one cautionary tale.

　　泰格·伍兹(Tiger Woods)曾是一名高尔夫神童，现在虽然已是一名高尔夫老将，但却不得不努力修复一塌糊涂的私人生活。他的故事具有警示意义。

　　The career of Michelle Wie, an American of Korean descent who qualified for her first major amateur tournament on the ladies tour aged 10 and turned professional at 16, offers a less dramatic example. She has signed multimillion-dollar deals with the likes of Nike and Sony. But she has not won a major championship.

　　至于10岁获得首个重大业余锦标赛女子赛事参赛资格、 16岁成为职业选手的韩裔美国球员魏圣美(Michelle Wie)，她的经历则不那么戏剧化。魏圣美与耐克(Nike)和索尼(Sony)等公司签署了几百万美元的代言协议，却没有赢得任何一场重大锦标赛事的冠军。

　　Keeping the number of commitments in check may end up being the key to future success for Guan Tianlang. He should concentrate on signing a small number of deals with large sponsors, warns Mr Sutherden. “If he ends up with 15 different sponsors off the back of this, the next thing you know, he’ll be another boom and bust case study.”

　　对关天朗来说，控制签约的品牌数量，也许最终会成为他未来保持成功的关键因素。萨瑟登警告说，关天朗应集中精力与大赞助商签署少量代言协议。“从这点来说，如果他最终与15家不同的赞助商签约，他将很快变成又一个昙花一现的案例。”

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