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Tseng-sational - Taiwanese 21-year-old racks up three majors

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Tseng-sational - Taiwanese 21-year-old racks up three majors
Asked to name the hottest young golfer around right now, most golf fans would probably opt for Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, the 21-year-old who scored a record low opening round at St Andrews at this year's Open.
Rickie Fowler, the 21-year-old Californian with a penchant for dressing himself head to foot in day-glo orange, might get an honourable mention too; although Fowler is a prospect for the future, rather than a genuine contender in the here-and-now - he's yet to win his first PGA Tour tournament.
The more far-thinking golf fan might also name Matteo Manassero, the 17-year-old Italian who already has a top-15 finish at the Open to his credit. And then there's Ryo Ishikawa, the 18-year-old who earlier this year shot a 58 on the Japanese Tour - the lowest score ever recorded on a major tour.
By Yani Tseng's standards, though, all those aforementioned players are under-achievers. She's just 21 years old, yet this past weekend Taiwan's Tseng won the Ricoh Women's British Open, having secured the Kraft Nabisco Championship in April. Two majors in a year is a remarkable record, but it gets better; with her first major win coming at the 2008 LPGA Championship, three majors at the age of 21 is a haul that not even Tiger Woods could match.
 Tseng won on Sunday at Royal Birkdale with a six-foot putt that saw off Australia's Katherine Hull by a single stroke, 11-under for the tournament. Going into the final day, Tseng had held a four-stroke advantage, but the tenacious Hull (and admittedly, some shaky play from Tseng) had whittled that lead down. Indeed, Hull actually looked the likelier winner on the final hole, until her weakly-hit chip for the green missed, allowing Tseng to snatch victory back just when it looked like she'd capitulate.
Even though Tseng wobbled with a closing 73, before that she'd only made one bogey in the previous three rounds. Nonetheless, despite that trio of major wins, Tseng's status on the circuit is slightly underwhelming. She may be ranked fifth in the world, but outside of the big wins the player has struggled, with just one other victory to her name - in 2009 on the LPGA Tour, she won the Corning Classic.
Perhaps the young Taiwanese player can learn greater consistency from her mentor. Former world No. 1 Annika Sorenstam is such a heroine to Tseng that the 21-year-old purchased her house in Orlando earlier this year, and the Swede texted Tseng words of support on Sunday.
While Tseng has a long way to go to match Sorenstam's haul of 10 majors, she surely also has the raw ability to run her inspiration close. Sorenstam won her first major at the age of 24 - if Tseng can maintain her current blistering form, she'll have picked up another four majors by the time she celebrates her own 24th birthday.
Of course, if she really wants to get to No. 1, she's going to have to start winning those bog-standard tournaments, too.

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