Dads the driving force

Tiger Woods heads a long list of top pros who have their fathers to thank for their golfing greatness

The late Earl Woods epitomizes to a tee the role of a father in raising his son Tiger into becoming a living sports legend.

Earl, a US infantry army officer who served in two tours of duty in Vietnam, spotted his son's talent early and put a putter in Tiger's hands even before he could walk. The elder Woods subsequently devoted his life to molding his son's talent and character during practice sessions, teaching Tiger the art of concentration.

"My dad was always the person who would plant seeds and give me encouragement. He was very worldly and deep in his thinking," said Woods, a 15-time major winner and owner of a joint-record 82 PGA Tour victories.

"He was instrumental in a lot of the guidance he gave me before I turned pro. It was neat to have that opportunity to have dad help me."

With many countries around the world celebrating Father's Day over the weekend, Asia's golf stars have their own personal stories on how their fathers have shaped them into successful athletes.

Marty Dou Zecheng, the first Chinese mainland golfer to earn a PGA Tour card in 2017, credits his father, Dou Xiaobing, for introducing him to the game when he was 5.

"He used to love playing golf and brought me to the course when I was 5. Slowly, I felt like I wanted to play golf as a hobby and he started looking for coaches to give me lessons," said Dou.

"When I was 7, he'd take me to small tournaments around Canada and made me love competing. He's the most important guy to bring me into the sport and made me feel like I can really be good in something that I like to do."

Japan's Hideki Matsuyama, a five-time PGA Tour winner, was introduced to golf at the age of 4 when his father took him to the local driving range. CT Pan's dad was so dedicated he would drive him and his brother all around Chinese Taipei in their "moving hotel" for competitions, while Thai ace Kiradech Aphibarnrat said his father introduced him to the game to keep him on the "right path".

Matsuyama, a five-time PGA Tour winner, looks back with fondness at how his father, Mikio, influenced his career with regular trips to the local range.

"My dad was my biggest inspiration. He was my golfing hero as a youngster－h(huán)e was probably a plus-two handicap when he was playing a lot and I dreamed of being as good as him," said Matsuyama, 28.

"Since I was a little guy, my father was my swing coach, up until high school. And after that I've just been on my own."

As a PGA Tour champion and a debutant at the recent Presidents Cup, Pan, the youngest amongst six siblings, beams with pride at how his late father would diligently drive him and his brother around in their family van for junior tournaments. He recalls how his father, who was an elementary school teacher, would make them earn breakfast every morning.

"My father was strict actually," said Pan. "He'd drop us off before breakfast at the gate, and we would have a one-kilometer run straight uphill. He would tell us to finish this run to earn our breakfast. It was a way to make me physically and mentally stronger."

After teaching them the basics, Pan's father brought them to the public library to rummage through golf magazines to glean tips. They would hit balls from the rooftop into rice fields and go to the beach for bunker-shot practice.

"He learned the game six months before I did and taught me the grip, stance and how to swing the club and then we would go to the library and read up lessons. That's how we learned," said Pan, who won the RBC Heritage last June for his maiden PGA Tour triumph.

"So many memories of the three of us driving around for tournaments in our van. We would sleep in the van. There would be many mosquitoes and the police would also chase us away. It was our moving hotel."

South Korea's An Byeong-hun is another rising star who has his father to thank for some tough love. A former Olympic medalist in table tennis, An's dad caddied for his son in the early years and offered insights into coping with the pressure of competition.

At the age of 5, An tagged along to the driving range and despite using a one iron, which is one of the hardest clubs to hit, the young boy got hooked on golf. He was sent to Florida at age 15 to pursue his dream and won the prestigious 2009 US Amateur Championship.

"Dad caddied for me when I turned pro and being with him helped. We fought a bit as you can imagine but it was fun. It wasn't easy and it was always small arguments. I'll listen to him, or pretend like I'm listening to him!" laughs the 28-year-old An, who himself is now a father following the birth of his son in February.

"He didn't know too much about the technical side of the game. But they (his mother is also an Olympic medalist in table tennis) were athletes and know an athlete's mind and what it takes to be a champion. The important thing was they didn't push me and said I've got to work hard to be good in golf. So I had that in my mind."

The writer is the senior director of communications for the PGA Tour and is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.