Minutes later, Cheng was greeted by Scott in a surprise at the trophy presentation.
"I thought the ceremonial duties would mean a lot in my career," Scott said.
It meant a lot for Cheng as well.
"He told me, ’Great job,’ and ’You should be really proud of what you have accomplished," Cheng said.
"I didn’t expect him to be signing autographs with me. I thought he would be out there playing with Vijay Singh and somebody."
Cheng, whose family is from Beijing and Hong Kong, placed fourth in the driving distance contest that opened the competition in each of four age groups for boys and girls ages 7-15.
"I felt like my heart stopped for a second," Cheng said.
After he won the chipping contest and sank his winning putt, complete with a right fist pump, Cheng was given a green jacket by his parents, one his mother bought during a family vacation to China after he had qualified to play at Augusta National.
While it lacks the official colour and logo of Augusta National’s Masters champions jackets, it capped a day that brought a big smile to Cheng’s face.
"This was really a crazy experience," he said.
Xu, who cited Augusta National co-founder and amateur legend Bobby Jones as her favorite golfer, said she felt the tension of playing at Augusta.
"I was extremely nerve-wracked," she said. "But when I went to hit the ball I was extremely comfortable, like I had been doing this for a long time."
Xu, whose grandparents live in China, has dreams of a green jacket as well.
"The trophy is pretty nice," she said. "Next year they should make it green jackets."
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