He plays like a golfer much older than his 16 years, but we have proof that Matteo Manassero actually is a teenager. No, it's not an authenticated birth certificate from his native Italy. It's the gaggle of teenage girls that followed him around the course. He noticed, of course.

Matteo Manassero hits off the seventh tee in the fourth round of his Masters Tournament debut. The only amateur in the 2010 field to make the cut, Manassero chot an even-par 72 Sunday and finished tied for 36th. (Zach Boyden-Holmes/Staff)

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Manassero said Sunday. "I like that."

Any marriage proposals for the teen idol?

"No, they think I'm too young, I think," he said. "No, I'm not too young."

He's not too young for Augusta National Golf Club, having just become the youngest competitor in Masters Tournament history, and it didn't often get the better of the winner of the sterling silver cup as low amateur.

Manassero was the only one of six amateurs to survive Friday's cut, and he went on to finish the tournament tied for 36th at 4 over on rounds of 71, 76, 73 and 72.

"I think he showed his best in the four rounds," said his caddie, Italian national amateur coach Alberto Binaghi. "He played three fantastic rounds, 1, 3 and 4. The good thing is in the second day, he didn't play well but he hung in there."

"I think he showed his best in the four rounds. He played three fantastic rounds, 1, 3 and 4." -- Alberto Binaghi, caddie and Italian national amateur coach, on Matteo Manassero (Zach Boyden-Holmes/Staff)

That's part of Manassero's character that belies his age. Though he will turn 17 on April 19, and will turn pro before the Italian Open, he already has a professional way about him. Little seems to rattle him -- not playing in the biggest tournaments like his first Masters, the 2009 British Open (tie for 13th) or the 2009 British Amateur (youngest winner) ... not playing a bad shot.

"He's still the same," said his mother, Francesca Scandola, who has been in Augusta this week along with a dozen family members and friends. "The most important thing for Matteo is things don't affect him. He's exactly the way he is."

After failing to make a birdie on the front nine and posting 37, Manassero made four consecutive pars before possible disaster at the par-4 No. 14. His tee shot hit a tree on the left side of the fairway, according to Binaghi, and bounced all the way over to the right side under a tree.

Manassero knocked the ball almost into the cup and made his first birdie of the day as patrons shouted their approval in English and Italian.

"You don't expect to put a 3-wood from 255 to three feet," Binaghi said.

The teen two-putted for birdie on No. 15, dropped back to 4 over with his fourth consecutive bogey at the par-3 No. 16 and slid to 5 over with another bogey at the par-4 17th.

Matteo Manassero reacts after missing a putt on No. 9 for his first of three bogeys on the day. (Zach Boyden-Holmes/Staff)

He saved perhaps his best for last, knocking an approach shot from 191 yards to within 4 feet of the cup at No. 18 to close out with a birdie.

"Today, I think I played really good, can't play much better than this," Manassero said. "I maybe left on the course on some occasions birdie chances. I made two bogeys on the last (three holes), but I finished with a good birdie. That's a good memory."

There was plenty to remember, from tips from playing partners to advice from Tom Watson, who played with him at the 2009 British Open and in a practice round.

Watson, 60, walked past Manassero as he was being interviewed and gave him a pat on the back, eliciting a big smile from the representative of the next generation of golf stars.

Manassero will take with him "everything here": "I mean, playing on a course like this obviously makes you understand that you can play on every course."