UAE golf round-up: Seven-year-old Sean has eyes on the Tour

Joy Chakravarty 12:40 19/02/2014
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  • Natural talent: Sean Cooper just wants to be the best in the world.

    Sean Cooper has already ticked a few boxes most golfers can only dream of. He has impressed Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy  and even almost snubbed a high-five from the 14-time Major champion himself.

    And lest we forget to mention… Sean turned seven last Saturday.

    Golf fans in the region were introduced to the sensation during the Tiger Woods Masterclass at this year’s Dubai Desert Classic, when he hit a few balls with such elan that it left Woods and twice Major champion Mark O’Meara searching for words.

    The Grade II student of Jumeirah Primary School then walked away nonchalantly as if he has been doing this all his life… which would be a correct statement since he started playing at the age of two.

    Woods, who was trying to give him a high-five, actually had to call out to get his attention.

    Sean’s mum, Elaine Stannard, says he is just besotted with golf.

    “My husband Feargal, who is from Ireland, got him a hurley (thewooden stick used for hurling) when he turned one, but all Sean would do is use it as a golf club,” said the proud Elaine.

    “We never tried to push him to golf, but we always watch the telecast of the final round of PGA events on Sunday, and he just picked it up from there.

    “Interestingly, he has never played with a plastic set. Such was his interest in golf, we bought him a set at the age of two.”

    That was also the time he decided to take his putter out at the Els Club practice green, without realising the fuzz-haired man putting next to him was Rory McIlroy.

    “Sean loves Rory. He is his idol. He likes to watch him play on TV, and also likes to criticise him if he hits a bad shot,” Elaine added.

    Since the age of four, the Dubai-born Sean has been a part of Mark Gregson-Walter’s Grassroot Golf, and the renowned coach has decided to give the boy private tuition because of his immense talent.

    He has an EGF handicap of 35, which is likely to come down after shooting a round of 101 – six below his handicap – from the ladies tee in last week’s GEMS tournament.

    “The thing about Sean is that all this is from within. He is so dedicated, he can play golf all day if given a chance. He never comes home willingly even if he had played for three or six hours,” said Elaine.

    “He wants to be the best in the world, that’s it. It’s not even an ambition in his mind. It is a foregone conclusion. He will often tell me how he’d go to America and play on the Tour. The little boy has everything figured out.

    “This birthday, all he wanted was a golf party. So, we invited some of his friends and played a round at The Track in Meydan. Last year, he wanted the entire set of Ryder Cup DVDs as his birthday gift, and that is all he watches during his DVD time on Saturdays.

    “I need to mention here that The Track have been great supporters. They are generally very supportive of junior golf, and they are very welcoming of Sean.”

    So, what was Sean’s reaction to all the applause he garnered from Woods, O’Meara and the hundreds present at the clinic?

    “To be honest, he was not affected at all by the whole thing,” said his mother. “He did not even wait to take an autograph from Tiger or Mark. He just ran away to the village area, where he wanted to hit a few chips in one of the interactive areas.

    “Someone asked him the other day, and Sean replied: ‘He’s Tiger Woods. He is a golfer. I am Sean Cooper. And I am a golfer too’.”

    Kohli leads from the front to seal challenge

    Captain Moshe Kohli unleashed a hot putter to propel his team to an impressive win in the Etihad-supported Orient Travel Golf Challenge at Emirates Golf Club.

    Riding on three gross birdies, Kohli contributed 34 points as his team, comprising of Manoj Kapur, Mukesh Kochhar and Viren Varma, tallied 80 points to win the Best Team honours.

    Consistently drilling his approach shots close to the pins, Kapur also made his presence felt with two gross birdies, while Kochhar and Varma made some crucial par putts when it mattered to round off a good day at work.

    With two best scores in a team of four counting towards the team total, the Gurbax Singh-led team, which included his daughter Baljit Kaur, Paul Joseph and Bala Subramaniam, combined effectively to tally 79 points and finish runners-up.

    The best individual performance of the day came from Babu Subramaniam, who shot up a brilliant 38 points to win the top prize in the individual category. Paul Joseph was runner-up three points behind.

    Team honours for Al Khaleej National School

    Al Khaleej National School- Dubai took the overall team honours in the inaugural GEMS Education Parental Engagement Golf Day, which was held at the Els Club, Dubai.

    Led by Ahmed Al Budoor (10) and Vincent Joubert- Strauss (28) and Jared Slee, the team posted a superb score of -18, but that was good only for a tie at the top with Cambridge High School, Abu Dhabi. On applying the countback, AKNS took the wining trophy.

    Jumeirah Primary School, which included Sean Cooper in their side, played above their years and finished one back on -17. Cooper made four net eagles in his very impressive round of 101 gross.

    All players and their families also had a chance to watch and interact with World Golf Trick-Shot champion Geoff Swain.

    Nadia Petrossi, Senior Manager of Parental Engagement for GEMS Education, said: “We know learning experiences are reinforced when there are healthy partnerships with teachers, so the family engagement golf day had all the makings of the perfect occasion to allow parents, teachers and students to come together, develop new skills and enjoy each other’s company.”

    White wins JW Marriott strokeplay event

    Lady vice-captain Harini White took top honours in the JW Marriott-sponsored strokeplay event at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club.

    White scored an impressive net 67 and won by two shots over runner up Glory Xavier.Commenting on her win, White said: “The course is in fantastic condition just now and my thanks goes to all competitors.” 

    Veronique Rossett claimed the best gross prize as well as nearest to the pin on 14 and the longest drive of the day.

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