Like many 19-year-olds, Cahyo “Bobby” Adhitomo attends university and wants to make his family proud
ike many 19-year-olds, Cahyo “Bobby” Adhitomo attends university and wants to make his family proud.
However, unlike most civil engineering students, Bobby said he hoped to make the European Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour — or the Asian Tour, at least — by graduation.
Bobby is well on the way to achieve his goal after conquering the 5th Faldo Series Indonesia Championship on Tuesday.
The fifth iteration of the event, aimed at golfers between 12 and 21 years of age, was held from Jan. 16 to 17 at the Damai Indah Golf Course in Tangerang, Banten.
Fifty of the nation’s most promising young golfers competed for five spots at Faldo Series Asia Grand Final at the Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen, China, from March 14 to 16.
The winners of the Faldo series include Bobby (Boys U-21), Elki (Boys U-18), Jordan Surya Irawan (Boys U-16), Gianti Mahardika (Girls U-21), and Victoria Chandra (Girls U-16).
The five will also have an opportunity to play alongside the legendary Nick Faldo himself.
The winner of the Asia Series will be invited to play at a professional tour event, while the winners of each age category will be eligible to compete in the European Faldo Series Grand Final in Ireland.
Bobby said that he was “nervous and excited” about the prospect of playing alongside Faldo. On whether he could better the performance of Fahmi Reza, Indonesia’s highest ranked participant in last year’s Grand Final, Bobby was confident.
“I’m aiming for number one”, he said. “If I get number two, someone will get disappointed … no one will be disappointed with number one”.
Established in 1996, the Faldo Series now holds tournaments in 27 countries for 5,000 up-and-coming golfers each year.
The 2011/2012 Faldo Series Asia features 17 tournaments in 13 countries, including China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Hong Kong, Brunei, Chinese Taipei, Pakistan, India, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Founded by former English professional golfer and six-time major winner Sir Nick Faldo, the Faldo Series is a registered charity that gives aspiring young golfers competition and travel opportunities.
Tom Phillips, CEO of the Faldo Series, said that 50 children from the local community were invited to Damai Indah for a free course and to watch the competitors.
“If we can get them to come into the environment … and have some fun … take them out to the green so they can see competitors in action who aren’t their mums and dads …suddenly these kids can see that golf is cool,” Tom said.
Indonesian badminton legend Rudy Hartono — and 20-year veteran of the links — was named the chairman of the local organizing committee for the series.
Rudy said anyone of the young players might put Indonesia on the map in the golfing world, similar to powerhouse Asian golfing nation South Korea.
“[Koreans] have a champion character. Once they know than one [Korean] could be a champion, anyone can,” Rudy said.
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