4th Albatross International Junior Golf Championship, Jaypee Greens Golf Resort, Greater Noida, November 20 to 23, 2012

Learning under a man who once taught Tiger Woods 

Greater Noida, November 20: Of the young foreign golfers set to tee it up at the 4th Albatross International Junior Golf Championship are two students of the Hank Haney International Junior Golf Academy (USA). Japanese teens Tennoshin Ogawa and Taisuke Ono, playing in Category ‘B’ here, will both be looking to prove that the time spent in the US – at a golf school run by probably the most recognized teaching pro in the world – has been well worth it.

Certainly, learning the game under the tutelage of a man who once coached the best player in the game can only be motivating. “It gives students a great advantage, to learn the game, and to learn how to compete under Hank Haney,” says Patrick O’Toole, Director, International Business Development, Hank Haney International Junior Golf Academy.

“Haney says you can only control two things – your attitude and your efforts. The best students are those who manage to do that. There is no secret, no magic formula,” adds O’Toole. The Albatross International Junior, incidentally, is co-sanctioned by the Hank Haney IJGA.

Tennoshin, from Aichi, and Taisuke, who hails from Tokyo, are two 13-year-olds with dreams of a life as a touring pro. And neither misses home comforts, “Being in the US is good for me,” admits Tennoshin. “It’s good for learning the game, for practising, and for getting better as a player.” Tennoshin is into the second semester of his first year at the academy; Taisuke is also in his maiden year, and is currently in his first semester. The sacrifice of being away from home, so that they are able to grow as golfers, can only reap rich rewards for these boys, in the years to come.

These two young Japanese, and all the other competitors, are eager to get going at Jaypee Greens. Meanwhile, the fourth edition of the Albatross International Junior Golf Championship was declared open in a short ceremony in the evening today. Feroz Garewal and Tvesa Malik led the oath of participation, and balloons were released to signal the start of the tournament. It should be a fun three days at Jaypee.