Everyone in golf knows all about Italy’s famous Molinari brothers, but perhaps fewer are aware of the family ties that bind the Challenge Tour’s Agustin Domingo and Senior Tour champion Domingo Hospital.
For not only is Domingo Agustin’s coach, he is also his uncle and the reason the younger man pursued his dreams of becoming a professional golfer.
Agustin was first introduced to the game by his mother Margara, whose brother Domingo became the oldest rookie in European Tour history when he played his debut season as a 34 year old in 1993, having successfully negotiated all three stages of the Qualifying School the year before.
Domingo saved his best until last that year, finishing in a tie for second place behind Ireland’s Des Smyth in his final event of the season at the Madrid Open, where his every shot was avidly watched from outside the ropes by his 12 year old nephew.
From that moment on, Agustin knew what he wanted to do with his life and even though his father, with whom he shares a name, and his uncle both insisted that he should further his education at university, he eventually got his wish when he became a professional golfer in 2005.
The following year, he won on the Satellite Alps Tour in Sicily, and by coincidence Domingo captured his maiden Senior Tour title at the 2010 Sicilian Senior Open.
Nowadays, when they are not travelling the world on their respective Tours, they can be found walking the fairways together at their local club in the small village of Sant Cugat, in the Catalunya region of northern Spain.
There, the garrulous Domingo willingly dispenses all manner of advice to his young charge, who soaks it up as avidly now as he did as a child.
He said: “When I was old enough to watch golf on TV and go to tournaments, I obviously followed my uncle’s career on The European Tour and that’s when I became really interested in golf. My first tournament I can really remember going to was in Madrid, where he finished second. I followed him at the weekend – it was fantastic.
“He was like a hero to me when I was growing up and all I wanted to do was become a professional golfer like him. But my father and Domingo both made me finish my education first, so I went to university in Barcelona to study Business and Administration, then when I left at 23 I decided to turn pro.
“Now he coaches me, so I feel very lucky. We live in the same village near Barcelona – he lives about 1km from the golf course and I live around 3km, so he usually gets there before me. When we’re not travelling to tournaments we train together a lot at the club – maybe three or four times a week. But even if I’m away, we speak to each other on the phone every day. He doesn’t concentrate too much on the technical side, more on the mental side and how to cope with life on Tour.”
Agustin is coping extremely well with life on the Challenge Tour, having finished in joint fifth and tied 15th place respectively at the Allianz Challenge de France and the Mugello Tuscany Open recently.
His aim from now until the end of the season is to make the most of his limited playing opportunities on the Challenge Tour – Agustin will compete predominantly on the Allianz and Alps Tours, where he has won four times in total – before hoping to emulate his uncle by qualifying for The European Tour through the Qualifying School.
He said: “I have at least eight tournaments on the Challenge Tour this year, so my plan is to play well enough in those events to get a full category for next season. I will also enter the Qualifying School again this year, so hopefully one way or another I will be either on the Challenge Tour or maybe even The European Tour next season – that is my dream.”
His more immediate goal is to see his beloved Barcelona crowned European champions when they take on Manchester United in the Champions League Final at Wembley on May 28. But one man who will not be joining him on the sofa is his uncle.
He explained: “Domingo is mad about golf, and only golf – although he also loves aeroplanes, because he used to have his pilot’s licence. He’s always talking about planes, but I’m not really interested – I prefer talking about football, and especially Barcelona. He doesn’t like football, or any sports where there’s a referee, so I think he has a problem with authority!”
