Tennis was his game between the ages of 8 to 12, and last month he won a title in the Beijing University Tennis League.

Xiao Se.[China Daily]

In 2000 when Xiao was 13 he then tried his hand at golf and his natural ability shone through again. One year after picking up club, Xiao won the 12-14 age group of the China Junior Championships.

More top awards have been added under his belt since then and he has risen to become one of China's promising golfers.

"I am confident to win every time I compete," he said. "I hope one day I will stand on the top podium of China Pro Tour and even win international major tournaments."

Xiao's parents said their son showed a natural sporting ability during his childhood that pushed them to open the door for Xiao.

"It was always hard to seat him for a long time and he showed extra interest in sports when he was able to walk," said Xiao's father.

Xiao also believes in training both his body and mind and is one of the few promising Chinese golfers studying at university as well as training daily for his golfing career.

This strategy breaks away from China's tradition of specialised training from an early age.

Xiao and his father, who brought him to the sport, are confident the off-course education will not be a distraction and the teenager plans to turn professional during his third or fourth year at university.

"Having classes in a university is always my dream. I do not think golf should be everything in a person's life at my age," said Xiao.

"Some of my friends got rid of education in a bid to have full-time training. But once they can not go further in the sport, they are not able to do anything else in other fields."

Xiao is now a freshman of the Beijing University of Chemical Technology, majoring in pulic management.

A year ago, he and his family were still on the crossroad of whether to take the National Examination (the nationwide qualification for universities) or follow other China's top amateurs to go abroad for further training.

Xiao's father Xiao Lianbin, a former table tennis player, believed the balance between education and sport was the right move.

"Xiao is a teenager always eager to learn new knowledge. I am sure such experiences will be of great value for his future," he said.

"In golf, apart from skill, mental condition plays a significant role in winning a match."

Xiao's success in the golf field in the past year has proved he is right on course to becoming a high-profile star like the nation's recent top duo Zhang Lianwei and Liang Wenchong.

In September's China Pro Tour Shanghai stage, wild card Xiao managed to make the cut and finished a surprising 32nd place.

Early this month the teenager made another great leap forward after winning the China Amateur Golf Tour final, the first time a student has won the event.

Xiao said the victory was the biggest motivation so far on his way to becoming the nation's top pro golfer.

"It is a confidence-boost win. I am now at the right age to turn professional. I think on my third or fourth year in the university, it will be the right time," he said.

"Right now, I will try to score as many points as possible to meet the requirement of the qualifying exam into the pro club."

Trained by elite coaches

Xiao's natural ability has awarded him opportunities to be trained by elite foreign coaches at home and abroad.

In August, 2004, Xiao received a one-month training in France at the David Leadbetter Academy and in 2005, Xiao was sent to notable US Jack Nicklaus Golf Academy by China Golf Association. He was lucky enough to be trained by one of the US's best coaches Mike Malaska for two weeks.

Before he started university, Xiao spent most of his training time in David Leadbetter Academy in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, where he was coached by experienced instructors Malcolm Joseph and Paul Hoad.

"I was lucky to join the programs for China's best junior golfers. I learned a lot from those experiences," he said.

Xiao now spends half of the day in class and the half on golf courses in Beijing.

"I try to do the best on the study and also in the sport. Sometimes, I feel tired. But I have to hold on.

"I believe that no sweat, means no sweet."

In China, golfers at university are not taken care of as well as students who play table tennis or diving. "He is not allowed to miss any class. We have to ask teachers to have a face-to-face instruction once he miss classes due to training or competition," said Xiao's mother.

"As a golfer, he is on a different way from his predecessors and fellow youngsters.

"We will continue to support him and we have confidence Xiao will emerge as top golf star in China."