Paul Casey has withdrawn from the U.S. Open, paving the way for a 14-year-old from China to become what officials believe to be the youngest player in championship history.
Andy Zhang lost in a playoff at a sectional qualifier in Florida. He was the second alternate when the week began at Olympic Club. Brandt Snedeker also withdrew on Monday. Casey pulled out because of a recurring shoulder injury.
Zhang has been part of the IMG Leadbetter Academy in Florida and is based in the Orlando area. Tadd Fujikawa previously was the youngest in the modern era. He was 15 when he qualified for the 2006 US Open at Winged Foot.
Keywords: Andy Zhang, US Open
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A country that pays well and plays fair attracts international talent - be it in sports or professional talent. And that in turn attracts a hundredfold more number of people with so many different skills that they raise the standard of everyone in the country. That is the lesson to draw from this story, where a boy from China gets the opportunity to rise to the top and play with the "big boys" and expects to win the ultimate prize. A society that accepts that is indeed doing something right. In the 20th century, the broad principles that advanced the West, and some in the East as well, are: Rule of law (not of a King, Sultan or Raja), equality of all citizens in they eyes of law (no discrimination based on religion, race, gender, etc.), a belief in science and technology (not religious superstition). That’s what is at the bottom of this story that celebrates a Chinese boy challenging the established order.
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