Nicolas Colsaerts: phenoms can take awhile to pan out

As if a certain recent performance on a certain 10th tee wasn't evidence enough, here's a reminder that sometimes being labeled a golf phenom at an early age isn't anything close to being a legit golf star.

Nicolas Colsaerts was labeled a can't-miss European Tour prospect a decade ago. Problem was, he did miss, again and again and again. He reached the European Tour in 2000, but then had to go through qualifying school four different times in the 2000s to retain his card. And he's only 30.

Still, as Golf Girl's Diary notes, the dude is insanely long off the tee, as he demonstrated this past week in winning the Volvo China Open. How long? Put it this way: he reached the 600-yard par-5 18th in two, using a driver and a seven-iron. That ain't bad.

He's still young, and may well have found the stroke he needs to get the second, more winning phase of his game going. And once he does, he might want to warn Rory McIlroy, Ryo Ishikawa, Rickie Fowler and the rest that even if the game comes easy, it rarely stays easy.

Garcelle Beauvais Kristy Swanson Ali Campoverdi Giuliana DePandi Pamela Anderson