Within sport, there has always been something of a reverse ageist approach. For many years at the pinnacle of sport, it was thought that the phrase men against boys was taken as a sort of tactical maxim, in that the vigour of youth could never topple the knowledge that can only come from experience. However, in more modern times, it has become more and more in vogue and sensible when you consider their talents, to make the acceptable age for joining professional sport ever lower.

I suppose the most apposite examples come in the world of football. Starting roughly around the time of Manchester United's Busby Babes, of whom so many would perish at Munich on February 6 1958, youth was finally entrusted at top level sport.Witness the ever decreasing age limit of footballers now, with Wayne Rooney bursting on to the scene at 17, Messi at a similar age, Freddy Adu signed up at 14 in the United States and Rhain Davis, a 9 year old Australian boy, purportedly being watched by Manchester United with a view to his future development. In short, what we used to see as inexperience, which undoubtedly does have some say, we now see as an opportunity for energy and vitality.

To come back to the crux of this article, golf too has begun to have its share of young guns, with Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose both coming into the game early on, with varying degrees of success. It is not just stuck with men either, with Hawaiian Michelle Wie also trying to make a name for herself. The newest addition to sports neophytes is Matteo Manassero, an extremely promising talent who is beginning to make waves in the golfing world.

For many 16 year olds, life is really a procession of schooling, angst, stress, exams, girls and other assorted things that, in the long run seem piffling but at the time seem more important than life itself; such is adolescence! However, Matteo Manassero, at just 16, was dealing with something far more important when in June he became the youngest ever winner of the British Amateur title at Formby, beating our own Sam Hutsby 4 and 3 in the 36-hole final of the event which was celebrating its 124th iteration this year. Manassero's age of 16 years and two months easily beat the previous record of 18 years and one month and made the golfing world sit up and take notice of the amiable Italian. Although at times errant with his putter, his talent shone through and winning this title, which as previously been won by giants such as Jose Maria Olazabal, Sergio Garcia and Graeme Storm, meant he could accept invitations to both the Open Championship as well as the 2010 Masters.

It was at the Open where his talent really shone, as he kept pace with American PGA golf legend Tom Watson and Spanish star Sergio Garcia in the first two rounds, making the cut and finishing in a very tidy 13th place. For this Manassero was awarded the silver medal, the youngest recipient since it was introduced over 60 years ago, as well as becoming the youngest competitor in a major competition in the modern era. Manassero was typically bashful, saying "I grew up a little bit playing with Tom Watson, you just learn from watching what he does and how he plays. I hit the ball very good this week, I kept it on the fairway which was important and something I tried to copy from Tom Watson but my putting was not so good."

It says a lot for Manassero's maturity that he can find fault with his own game and faults he will surely have, being only 16. This is why the next stage of his remarkable story is bound to come under intense scrutiny. The temptation for a young athlete such as Manassero is to go professional immediately and start working towards his higher ambitions, but sometimes you have to take a step back so you can eventually go forward. Manassero, a bright boy, highlights maths and history as his favourite school subjects and this is something his parents are keen to keep him focussed on for now. They want him to finish his schooling before setting off on the tour, though Manassero has no intention of going to University. Although this might seem slightly cosseting, you have to imagine how a 16 year old would handle being shuttled around the world, often alone, without the support of his family and long time coach. Furthermore, there will undoubtedly be a whirlwind of publicity, sponsorship deals and everything else that entails becoming a professional sportsman and he might not be ready for all that just yet.

Manassero was born in fair Verona, in April 1993, a date so close that it almost makes me feel ancient! Like most young lads, he is also a football nut and states that AC Milan are his favourite team, though he recently commented that they are "not great at the moment". His golfing hero, among many, is Spanish maverick Seve Ballesteros, who he says played "different golf" to other players.

In short then, the world should remain poised for the moment when Matteo Manassero runs out of his last exam and takes the first rung on the long ladder to the top of the golfing world. He undoubtedly has the backing, the talent and the right personality to make the most of his gifts and his is a name you should definitely be keeping an eye out for. As his sometimes opponent at the Open Tom Watson put it so eloquently, "Golf is a game for life, you are never too young to start and you are never too old to play." Luckily, Matteo Manassero has taken this as a dictum to set his career by and it can only be good news for Ryder Cup fans such as myself that we have such a new, fresh talent in our midst.