Featured Players
By Chuah Choo Chiang
Indonesia’s Rayhan Latief will carry more than just 14 clubs at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship which starts on Thursday – he will ride on the memory of his late father as he chases his childhood dream this week.
The 18-year-old makes his fourth successive appearance in the region’s premier amateur Championship, knowing fully well a victory will come with coveted invitations to play in the Masters and The Open next year, something he and his late father, Hasanudin Abdul Latief – had often talked about.
“My inspiration are my parents. They kept giving 1,000 percent of their effort, and they’re not doing it for themselves but for me. Now, I have to give 100 percent effort to be good for myself,” said Rayhan, who is Indonesia’s highest-ranked golfer on the World Amateur Golf Ranking at No. 226.
Hasanuddin passed away at age 71 last year, and he was instrumental in introducing the game and pushing Rayhan to reach for the stars. While mum, Sunarni Darmorejo, accompanied him to tournaments in Indonesia and around the world, his father, being an avid sportsman himself through golf, table tennis and martial arts, sharpened his mentality and approach to the sport with a no-nonsense approach.
“He can put that killer mentality inside of me,” said Rayhan. “He can lift me up from down here to up here just like that. He knew how to motivate me, bring me up if I’m feeling down. He knows me 100%. Not every kid wants to talk to their parents, but he knows how I feel and I enjoyed talking to him. He helped me a lot, knew how to be hard and how to be soft. He was a great influence.”
At the age of eight, Rayhan was introduced to golf by his Hasanuddin who took him to the local driving range with the initial aim to teach him to play the game socially. They then stumbled on a Youtube channel by Karl Vilips of Australia, who at the time was a golf prodigy and is now a PGA Tour winner.
“We didn’t think about competing in international tournaments,” said Rayhan. “Then we started watching Karl’s Youtube channel and my dad said I needed to get serious with my golf. My first ever score was 114 and 108 in the national championship in 2015 and then I won my first tournament later. From there, we always found ways to become better and we later met coach Tony Blacker, who thought I could be competitive outside of our country.
“My dad was truly a golf maniac. He had played the game for over 40 years, and he would bring home trophies every month. I wanted to do the same, and that was the starting point for me to start taking golf seriously.”
Rayhan remembers with great fondness the time he and his dad watched video highlights of the 2004 Masters Tournament, which Phil Mickelson won the famous Green Jacket for the first time and said his late grandfather had “nudged” his winning putt into the 18th hole during the final round.
Now, the young Indonesian, who recently began his freshman year in University of North Texas, believes his father’s memory and spirit will guide him as he takes on the region’s top amateurs at Emirates Golf Club’s Majlis Course with the aim of winning the prestigious title on Sunday.
“My dad and I talked about how Phil’s grandfather had wanted him to win the Masters which he did in 2004. Phil said the first thing that popped in his mind was ‘I think he nudged the ball in’ for him to win the Masters’” recalled Rayhan.
“Thinking about this now, I really hope and know I’m capable of having a chance to play in Augusta National next year, if not in the near future. My dad who would love it.”
Rayhan’s fellow compatriots, Asa Najib Bhakti, Amadeus Christian Susanto, Kenneth Sutianto and Randy Bintang are also in the elite 120-man field at Emirates Golf Club. Randy, 21, who held the first-round lead in Japan last year before finishing tied 19th, will make their fourth consecutive appearances in the Championship while Kenneth will savour a third start, Amadeus his second while Asa will cherish his debut appearance.
