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Determined golfer Sam Hobday has returned from a four-year college experience in America and is aiming to tee off his professional career later this year.
The 22-year-old attended King College in Bristol, Tennessee, after being scouted by the college coach through a UKbased company that sends promising young sportsmen and women to the US to play college golf, as highlighted earlier in GulfWeekly.
Hobday said: “I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the States; my four years there flew by and it was an experience unlike any other. I didn’t know what to expect when I first set off, but I was fully immersed in American culture and all that the South had to offer.
“My university had a blend of students from around the region, from further afield in the States and a whole host of international students and thankfully the accent didn’t make it back with me!
“I couldn’t have asked for anything better in terms of the golfing experience. The level of coaching I received, the tournaments I played in and the courses I played on were second to none. I really felt a drastic improvement in my game over the four years and it has given me the chance to pursue a career in golf.”
When Hobday returned in August, he started to compete on The MENA Tour, as well participating in the King Hamad Trophy and The Qatar Open more recently, finishing 8th and 5th respectively.
He provided the highlight of the opening day of the tournament at Kuwait’s Sahara Golf Club, acing the 116-yard par-3, 14th with a pitching wedge. This was the fourth hole-in-one of his golfing career and his first in a big tournament.
He plans to turn professional before the end of the year, until which time he will be competing in as many top ranking amateur events as possible and following the Tour. He will compete in the English Amateur Championship in the summer, after which he will make the jump into professional golf.
Hobday believes having a base in Bahrain has proved extremely useful for his career. His family, originally from Derbyshire in the UK, moved to the kingdom from Singapore in 1997, at which point Sam joined the Riffa Golf Club and ignited his passion.
He explained: “Living in Bahrain has given me the perfect opportunity to continue my golfing career. It’s a very good base to use to travel to events played around the MENA region, as well as potential upcoming events in South Africa and South East Asia.
“The weather also plays a huge factor as I can practice and play pretty much all year round, and have a distinct advantage over those working on their games in the winter in both the UK and the US.
“My mum, Sarah, and dad, Barry, are coming up to their 20th year teaching at St Christopher’s School so I am back living in the house I grew up in. Thankfully, they haven’t kicked me out yet!”
“To be honest, I’m hugely grateful to them for all their support. Not only in terms of cheering me on, but amateur golf doesn’t pay so I’m being sustained for the year on the ‘bank of mum and dad’ as they like to put it!
“Looking ahead, if things were to not work out on the golf course I have earned my degree in Business Management and it means I have something to fall back on, but for now the main focus is making it as a professional golfer.”
