中国少年美国高尔夫大师赛首轮表现抢眼

The world of golf may have glimpsed its future Thursday in the form of Guan Tianlang, a 14-year-old eighth-grader from Guangzhou, China.
周四，高尔夫球界或许从关天朗身上瞥见了自己的未来。这位14岁小将来自中国广州，上初中二年级。

On a day when countless eighth graders across the country saw their orthodontists and fretted over potential dates for the middle school graduation dance, Guan calmly played in the world's most famous golf tournament in a threesome that included Ben Crenshaw, the 61-year-old former Masters champion who is old enough to be Guan's grandfather.
当美国无数八年级学生还在看正牙医生并为中学毕业舞会的潜在约会对象而着急时，关天朗则在全球最知名的高尔夫锦标赛上平静地挥杆。与他一同比赛的还有两人，其中包括前大师赛冠军、在年龄上足以当关天朗祖父的61岁的克伦肖(Ben Crenshaw)。

With a series of gutsy chips and clutch putts on Augusta National's pool-table slick greens, Guan notched four birdies and carded a 1-over-par 73, two shots better than Bubba Watson, the defending champion.
在美国奥古斯塔国家高尔夫球场的绿地上，关天朗以一系列大胆挥杆和击球入洞的动作，抓下了四个小鸟球，交出73（+1）杆，比卫冕冠军沃森(Bubba Watson)领先两杆。

On the 18th hole, Guan stood over his 12-foot putt from the fringe and rolled it perfectly to the edge of the cup, then pumped his fist as it dropped into the hole.
在第18洞，关天朗反复查看距果岭边缘12英尺的球后，将球完美地推到球洞边缘，然后在球进洞时挥了挥拳头。

'It must help to have 14-year old nerves,' said Crenshaw.
克伦肖说， 有14岁的胆量一定对打球有帮助。

The boy's father, Han Wen, gushed, 'He's always as good as he was today.'
关天朗的父亲关汉文说，他的表现一直都像今天这么好。

'One chip, one putt, that's his game,' said John Ho, an owner of Guan's home course in Guangzhou, Lion Lake Country Club. 'He's unbelievable.'
广州狮子湖高尔夫球度假俱乐部(Lion Lake Country Club)的拥有者John Ho说，一削一推，这就是他的打法，不可思议。

There were other notable performances during the first day at the Masters. Australian Marc Leishman, a relative unknown, reeled off four birdies on the back nine to shoot a 66 and a share of the lead. Englishman David Lynn, a definite unknown, carded a 68, tying him with a 53-year-old Fred Couples for third place as twilight fell. Tiger Woods, the prohibitive favorite, shot a 70, the same opening round score he carded when he won the tournament in 1997, 2001 and 2002.
本届大师赛第一天，其他人也有出色表现。不甚出名的澳大利亚人利什曼(Marc Leishman)在后九洞抓到四只小鸟，拿下66杆，处于领先位置。籍籍无名的英国人林恩(David Lynn)以68杆的成绩与53岁的卡波斯(Fred Couples)在夜幕低垂时并列第三。夺冠热门老虎伍兹(Tiger Woods)交出70杆，与1997年、2001年和2002年他夺冠时的首轮成绩一样。

But the giddiest buzz surrounded a kid who will hustle back to China next week to catch up on the gossip at Guangzhou Zhixin Middle School.
但整场比赛人们议论最多的还是这个中国少年。他将于下周返回中国，他就读的广州执信中学目前也在热议他的事迹。

His par-saving putt on the fourth hole elicited roars, his birdie putt on 13 yelps. Guan barely cracked a smile.
关天朗第四洞的保帕推杆引发全场雷鸣般的掌声，第13洞的鸟推更是引来尖叫不断。整场比赛他都很少展露笑容。

What makes Guan all the more surprising is his country's ambivalence toward the sport. The Communist government doesn't want to embrace what it views as a rich-man's game. Officially, the construction of golf courses has been banned in China since 2004, but hundreds have sprouted since then, including many designed by the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Arnold Palmer.
关天朗的表现之所以让外界如此意外，是因为中国对高尔夫这项运动存在矛盾心理。中国政府不想欣然接受高尔夫，认为这是富人运动。自从2004年以来，中国官方就禁止在国内建设高尔夫球场。但在那之后，中国各地仍雨后春笋般地冒出数百座高尔夫球场，其中很多是尼克劳斯(Jack Nicklaus)、福尔多(Nick Faldo)和帕尔默(Arnold Palmer)等名流设计的。

Of the estimated 600 golf courses in China are legal, only a few are legal. Government officials aren't supposed to golf. Some wear two gloves on a weekend outing to avoid the giveaway tanned right hand on Monday morning.
据估计，中国共有600个高尔夫球场，其中合法的仅有几个。中国政府官员一般不去打高尔夫。一些人会在周末外出打高尔夫时两手都戴上手套，以避免周一早晨上班时暴露出被晒黑的右手。

But golf is good both for tourism and for greasing the wheels of business that propel the world's second-largest economy.
但实际上，高尔夫既能促进旅游业也能对推动中国经济增长的商贸活动起到润滑作用。