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SCHOOLBOY Sam Hobday will be the youngest golfer ever to compete in the Bahrain Open Golf Championship when it tees off this weekend at the Awali Golf Club.
Playing with a handicap of nine, Sam, 13, will be facing more than 100 senior golfers - both professionals and amateurs - aiming for success in the 45th annual event.
This week he has been training at the Bahrain Golf Club, and says he is ready to face the biggest golfing challenge of his life. He said: "I play in Awali quite often and know what it takes to play the game.
"I will be playing against five or six top professionals and the rest will be good amateurs who have handicaps in single figures.
"I intend to just play my game, put in lots of practise and play the course as often as possible. I believe I am good at putting and chipping and have a good swing. But I will be concentrating on playing consistently and especially playing better on the difficult holes.
"As a member at the Awali Golf Club I train a minimum of eight-hours every week under my coaches Scott McCaw and Chris Kelby. This tournament will definitely be a good experience for my career as I want to be a professional golfer and play the European tour."
Sam Hobday is a Year Nine student at St Christopher's School who began playing golf with plastic clubs at the age of two. In 1997 he moved to Bahrain with his family from Singapore and became a member of the Riffa Golf Club when he was five. At the age of seven he got his first hole-in-one.
He has twice won the Junior Open for players under 10 at the age of six and nine and has twice won the under-12 contest. Last year he was runner up in the under-14 competition. In Dubai, he has played in the 'B' division at the Arabian Ranches Golf Club and shot a gross of 78 and net of 59. In England, he played the Long Ashton Junior Open in 2007 and had the fifth best gross among 70 players.
A sports fanatic who plays rugby and soccer too, Sam added: "I enjoy playing golf as it makes me calm and focused. It helps me concentrate and I don't mind a round on my own or with my friends.
"My favourite golfers are Sergio Garcia as he is always smiling on the course although Tiger Woods is the best player in the world and is very focused and Ernie Els has a great swing."
Sam also plays for the school golf team and is greatly encouraged by his family, all of whom are golf fans. He explained: "My father has a five handicap and is always challenging me. He has promised me a new set of clubs when I beat his handicap and I hope it won't be long before it happens!"
His parents are teachers at St Christopher's School - Barry is head of the geography department and Sara is a PE teacher. Mrs Hobday plays with a handicap of 19 and his sister, Suzanna, 15, plays with a handicap of 18.
