What's the Sony Open without a talented teen?

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Badz/PGA TOUR

Lorens Chan (left) and Parker McLachlin will be two of the native Hawaiian golfers playing in this week's Sony Open.

Jan. 14, 2009
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents

HONOLULU, Hawaii -- His friends are envious that he gets to skip school.

Other than that, it's pretty much been business as usual for 14-year-old Lorens Chan, who will play in the Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club this week.

Chan survived a 12-man qualifier in late December for the spot the Friends of Hawaii Charities reserves for a member of the Gov. John A. Burns Challenge Cup team. He made birdie on three of his final five holes to force a playoff, then won with a 6-footer.

Tadd Fujikawa was the youngest player to make a cut at a TOUR event; can Lorens Chan take his place?

Badz/PGA TOUR

Tadd Fujikawa was the youngest player to make a cut at a TOUR event when he played the weekend at the Sony Open in 2007; can Lorens Chan take his place?

"That day, there was a lot of pressure going on," Chan recalled. "I just told myself not to give up; to keep on fighting."

Chan is six months older than Michelle Wie was when she played in the 2004 Sony Open and missed the cut. Tadd Fujikawa, who qualified as a pro this year, was just shy of his 16th birthday when he finished 20th in 2007 and became the youngest player in 50 years to play the weekend at a TOUR event.

"It's pretty amazing that I'm able to play in a PGA TOUR event at my age," the softspoken Chan acknowledged. "Playing with the pros is going to be a lot different. But right now it just feels like another tournament. I want to learn some stuff and have fun."

Chan played a nine-hole practice round with another Hawaiian golfer, Parker McLachlin, on Tuesday. The two had never met, but Chan, whose parents are members at Waialae, had seen the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open champ on the range over the holidays.

"I know he can go really low -- a lot," Chan said, his eyes wide in awe. "He has a really nice swing. I'll probably learn overall every aspect of the game. I know the short game is going to be really big aspect of this week."

His playing partners on Thursday and Friday will be Jason Dufner and former U.S. Amateur champion Ricky Barnes.

"Right now, I'm not that nervous ... but we'll see how it goes Thursday," Chan said, laughing, dare we say, a tad nervously.

Chan, who is the youngest of three brothers, started playing golf seven years ago. Both his parents played, and he says it was a "good way to get out of the house. It teaches you a lot of life lessons and golf is a sport you can play your whole life."

Although he'll tell you he can remember shooting in the 90s "when I was young," that's hardly par for the course these days. Chan won his first national title at the Optimist International when he was 11, and his career low is the 64 shot at Pinehurst No. 4 two years ago during the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship.

Chan doesn't have thoughts of following in Fujikawa's footsteps and turning pro anytime soon, though. He wants to work to improve his game with the hopes of "using golf to get into a top college," Chan said.

McLachlin would approve.

"He's got his whole life in front of him," McLachlin said. "If he finishes 15th or 20th this week, he doesn't need to make a life-altering decision. Guys on TOUR have their best years historically in their mid 30s.

"You can play golf the rest of your life. It's not like football or basketball where you need to take advantage of your youth at a young age. .. You're going to be playing really high quality golf into your mid 30s and late 30s. To me, my advice to him would be, hey, just enjoy your time right now. Continue to get better. See if you can find a great education and a place to play golf over the next four years."

Toward that end, Chan estimates that he spends about 15 hours a week working on his game. After all, there's homework to do and biology, math and history classes to attend. Chan has also been studying hula since the fourth grade.

"It's good learning about the Hawaiian culture, and it's a way you can express yourself," Chan said. "It's fun performing."

Thursday, though, Chan will be performing with his clubs. He expects to rely on the strengths of his game, which are his iron play and putting -- not to mention his local knowledge -- as he attempts to become the youngest to make the cut in a TOUR event.

"My parents always taught me it's not really about winning," Chan said. "It's just about going out there and do your best and whatever happens, happens. So this week that's pretty much my goal. Come out here, learn, have fun and play my best."