Eugen Maroga stepped on to the first tee at St Andrews yesterday, found the fairway with his tee shot, found the green with his second and holed the putt for a birdie three.
Maroga is 18. He comes from Mpumalanga, deep in the African bush, 350 miles from Johannesburg near the Kruger National Game Reserve. He is in Scotland to play in the Dunhill Links Championship, which starts today over three courses, St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns.
Two years ago Maroga still lived in the bush, working as a cattle herder and, occasionally, as a caddie at the local club, Pilgrim's Rest. He originally started playing with a club he fashioned from a broken water pipe. He trawled the water hazards for balls and he played with the other caddies on a course they created in the bush. Sometimes he sneaked on to the white man's course, in the dead of night, and played the holes from memory.
He quickly became good; he was a natural and the members began to recognise it. His first proper club was a redundant wedge, then someone dug out a rusty set of Hogan irons and a visitor gave him his first glove and his first golf shoes.
Finally he was spotted by another visitor, Barry Mayes, a Johannesburg businessman who, recognising his talent, invited Maroga to come and stay.
He has had scores of 65, 63 at Houghton, a course which regularly hosts the European tour's Dunhill Championship, and qualified for the South African Amateur with a 64. When he went back to Pilgrim's Rest he actually had a 59, sandwiched between rounds of 68 and 67.
All this brought him to the attention of Johan Rupert, this week's sponsor, who arranged for Maroga to come and play his first rounds outside South Africa and his first professional tour event.
After that opening birdie he had eight more, with a sprinkling of bogeys, to finish four under, 68. In this week's pro-am format he will play with another 18-year-old, Ty Tryon. Tryon, from a well-to-do Florida family, became the youngest golfer in the modern era to get his card for the US tour, aged 17, and he too is here on an invitation. They should prove to be a fascinating partnership.
