WITH FATHER’S DAY BEING CELEBRATED THIS MONTH, HERE’S A TRIBUTE TO GOLFING FATHERS WHO HELPED MOULD THEIR CHILDREN INTO THE STARS THEY ARE TODAY
The late Earl Woods epitomises the role of a father to a tee in raising his son, Tiger, into becoming a living sports legend.
Earl, a US infantry army officer who served in two tours of duty in Vietnam, spotted his son’s talent early on and put a putter in Tiger’s hands even before he could walk. The elder Woods subsequently devoted his life in moulding his son’s talent and character during practice sessions, teaching Tiger the art of concentration amidst unconventional distractions created by his old man.
Holder of a record-tying 82 PGA Tour victories following his win at the inaugural Zozo Championship in Japan last October, Tiger said: “My dad was always the person who would plant seeds and give me encouragement. He was very worldly and deep in his thinking. He was instrumental in a lot of the guidance he gave me before I turned pro. It was neat to have that opportunity to have dad help me.”
With most of the world celebrating Father’s Day in June, Asia’s golf stars have their own stories on how their fathers have shaped them into successful athletes.
Hideki Matsuyama (Photo © Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama was introduced to golf at the age of four when his father took him to the local driving range, CT Pan’s dad was so dedicated that he would drive him and his brother all around Chinese Taipei in their “moving hotel” for competitions while Thai ace Kiradech Aphibarnrat said his father introduced him to the game to keep him on the “right path”.
Byeong Hun An is another PGA Tour rising star who has his father to thank for providing guidance and a labour of love that only a parent knows how best to dispense. A former Olympic Games medallist in table tennis, An’s father, Ahn Jae-hyung, caddied for his son in the early years and offered insights in coping with the pressure of competition.
Countryman Sung Kang called his father immediately after securing his breakthrough PGA Tour triumph in last year’s AT&T Byron Nelson, saying aloud “I did it” as his father had the vision to send him to the US as a teenager to pursue his dreams in golf.
Matsuyama, a five-time PGA Tour winner, looks back with fondness at how his father, Mikio, influenced his career with regular trips to the local range. “Although I started to watch quite a bit of golf, my dad was my biggest inspiration. He was my golfing hero as a youngster – he was probably a plus-two handicap when he was playing a lot and I dreamt of being as good as him,” said the 28-year-old Matsuyama. “Since I was a little guy, my father was my swing coach, up until high school. And after that I’ve just been on my own.”
An did not quite follow in his dad’s footsteps in picking up a ping pong bat. At five, he tagged along to the driving range and despite using a one iron, which is one of the hardest clubs to hit, the young boy got hooked to golf. Like Kang, he was sent to Florida at age 15 to pursue the American dream and won the prestigious 2009 US Amateur.
“Dad caddied for me when I turned pro and being with him helped. We fought a bit as you can imagine but it was fun. It wasn’t easy and it was always small arguments. I’d listen to him, or pretend like I was listening to him!” laughs An, who himself is now, at 28, a father following the birth of son, Sunwoo Stanley An, in February.
“He didn’t know too much about the technical side of the game. But they (his mother is also an Olympic medallist in table tennis) were athletes and know an athlete’s mind and what it takes to be a champion. The important thing was they didn’t push me and said I’ve got to work hard to be good in golf. So I had that in my mind.”
Gavin Green with dad Gary (Photo courtesy of Vivienne Beh)
Malaysia’s Gavin Green, 26, had his father, Gary, next to him during his formative professional years as he graduated from the Asian Tour to the European Tour in rapid fashion. He is now eyeing the PGA Tour as his ultimate destination. A graduate from the University of New Mexico, Green said: “Dad and mum started me on this, lots of motivation from them which is huge because you can always talk to them about anything. They are the ones who sacrificed everything to help me get better, whether it is taking me to the range when I was younger or financially supporting me to play golf in the US when times were hard. We won a couple of Asian Development Tour events together, so he’s definitely played a massive role in my career,” said Green.
As a PGA Tour champion and a debutant at the recent Presidents Cup, Pan, the youngest amongst six siblings, beams with pride at how his late father would diligently drive him and his brother around in their family van for junior golf tournaments.
He also recalls how his father, who was an elementary school teacher, would make them earn breakfast every morning. “My father was strict actually,” recalled Pan. “He’d drop us off before breakfast at the gate, and we would have a one-kilometre run straight uphill. He would tell us to finish this run to earn our breakfast. It was a way to make me physically and mentally stronger.”
After teaching them the basics, Pan’s father brought them to the public library to rummage through golf magazines for golf tips. They would also hit balls from the roof top into rice fields and go to the beach for bunker shots practice. “He learnt the game six months before I did and taught me the grip, stance and how to swing the club and then we would go to the library and read up lessons from magazines. That’s how we learnt,” said Pan, who will defend his RBC Heritage title this month.
“So many memories of the three of us driving around for tournaments in our van. We would sleep in the van. There would be many mosquitoes and the police would also chase us away. It was our moving hotel.”
For Kiradech, the first Thai to hold a PGA Tour card, his businessman father, Panupong, diligently sat in a permanent spot at the local range in Bangkok and shouted out instructions. “I started playing when I was eight, just followed my dad to the range. My dad will always sit in the same chair and he’ll shout, ‘aim left, aim right’ and when he eventually took me out to the course, I just went ‘wow’. He’s the most important guy in my golf career. He’s the guy who keeps pushing me and always saying someday, it’s going to be my day.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat with his dad Panupong and family
