Turkish golfer Hakan Yamac admitted it was a dream come true for his home course National Golf Club to play host to the European Challenge Tour for the first time this week, as the Turkish Airlines Challenge continues to receive rave reviews from the professionals in the field.
The 28 year old’s story as a golfer began when, at the age of 11, he caddied for former Ryder Cup player Antonio Garrido at a Senior Tour event held here at his home club.
Yamac knew nothing about the sport but his father worked in the kitchen at the clubhouse and one day, he was called upon to carry the bag for the Spanish legend. It was a life-changing experience for the young Turk and suddenly he was hooked.
This week, it came full circle for the Belek man as he played alongside Irishmen Niall Kearney and Ruaidhri McGee in the first Challenge Tour event to be held at the stunning David Feherty and David Jones-designed layout.
“This is the Challenge Tour and it has been my dream since I was a little kid to play on a tour like this,” said Yamac, who is friendly with Italian Lorenzo Gagli and Richard Green of Australia. “I've practised all of my life for this and when I got the chance, on the first tee, I was very nervous and I lost my swing. In the first three holes I didn’t know what was going on. I said to myself, ‘come back Hakan’!
“I have played Qualifying School before but I've never been so nervous. It was a good experience for me. I tried to play really well and beat the stress.
“It’s a great experience for all of us and we have many talented young Turkish players coming through the ranks. It’s great for them because they know this tournament is coming to Turkey and we can play this event.
“Everybody now has a target to get this tournament because all of the kids have the dream of one day getting themselves on the European Tour or US PGA Tour. When I was young I was like that.”
Yamac was not always dreaming of life as a professional golfer, certainly not at the age of 11 when he was called upon to carry a bag for five-time European Tour winner Garrido.
“I was 11 and I didn’t know anything about the game,” he said. “I didn’t speak any English and when I started pulling the trolley for the player I was thinking, ‘this is ridiculous, what is this game?’”
“I thought it was a strange sport. But Antonio told me how to hold the club and told me that I would never forget how to hold a club, even if I forget anything else. I kept that grip and then I became a very good golfer.
“I hope that the same can happen here with the young players because every kid has a dream. We have a junior academy here with 65 kids and we look after the kids and coach them. We have six players in the national team so it’s getting better and better.
“It’s good for the young players because they can see this and they will have a dream of one day playing an event like this.”
