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Steve Stricker heaps praise on "remarkable" Guan Tianlang

Stricker heaps praise on
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Steve Stricker admits that he thought 14-year-old Guan Tianlang was 16 ahead of his Masters debut.

World number eight Steve Stricker has expressed his excitement ahead of Guan Tianlang's historic debut in the Masters this week.

The 14-year-old, who recently received private lessons from Tiger Woods, will become the youngest ever player to set foot at Augusta when he tees off on Thursday.

Stricker admits that he will be monitoring Guan's progress closely.

"I knew he was playing, I knew he was young. I didn't think he was the same age as my daughter. I thought he was 16," Stricker told BBC Sport.

"That's remarkable. I just can't imagine being that young and competing at this level at such an early age.

"It will be interesting to see how he does and how he handles it. It's remarkable that he's even playing."

Stricker has been paired with Nick Watney and Ernie Els ahead of the tournament.

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Tiger Woods hits a shot from the 10th during the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational tournament on March 21, 2013
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