Australia’s latest PGA Tour participant Danny Listing’s journey is like no different, in reality, it’s so exceptional that Tiger Woods stood up and took discover.
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The 26-year-old will make his debut on the main US tour at The Genesis Invitational this week, beginning within the early hours of Friday morning Australian time, because the recipient of the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption.
Sifford was the primary African-American to play on the PGA Tour and yearly since 2009, Woods has hand-picked a participant who embodies variety inside golf like Sifford, for a probably life-changing alternative within the $US20 million occasion organised by the Tiger Woods Basis.
Though, a superb displaying from Listing at Torrey Pines can be life-changing for not simply him, however roughly 40 golf-keen kids in Ghana.
Listing was born in Georgia in america, to an Australian father and a Ghanaian mom.
However he was raised within the capital of Ghana, Accra, on the African west coast, and was the one baby within the space to swing a golf membership.
The native course he grew up at, Achimota Golf Membership, had sand greens, fairways that have been extra scrub than grass and there was no driving vary for apply.
“Wanting again on it, it appears a bit extra unrealistic than it did to me again then,” Listing mentioned.
“After I see the services the place I grew up and discovered on, there was no driving vary, they’ve constructed one now, and the greens on the market have been in all probability working at a 3 or so on the stimpmeter.
“It undoubtedly was not conducive to excelling on the sport of golf.
“It was in all probability a case of ignorance is bliss.”
These obstacles by no means bothered Listing nonetheless, and since he has made it to the skilled ranks, his coronary heart has been set on serving to the brand new wave of golf-loving kids in Ghana.
He arrange the Danny Listing Basis and is utilizing his personal jet-setting {golfing} journey as a automobile to assist their goals.
“We’re concerned with about 40 children for the time being,” he proudly mentioned.
“Whether or not we give teaching or a tools to, and now we have just a few children which are a bit older and attending to the age the place they’re seeking to get publicity, and get scholarships over to the US.
“We’re sending them over to England to get some extra expertise of their summer season breaks.”
With such excellent charity work, it’s little marvel that Listing was Woods’ selection for this yr.
It’s fairly a symbolic second for Listing as Woods’ playoff victory on the 2008 US Open on the iconic San Diego venue is one in all his earliest reminiscences of watching golf rising up.
Another yr and he wouldn’t be teeing it up at Torrey Pines, the catastrophic California wildfires pressured the match away from its normal house of Rivieria in Los Angeles.
He additionally might not have been there if not for an irregular transfer.
“I used to be really simply doing a little bit of apply on the driving vary. I used to be about to fly over to South Africa. Get a name from an unknown quantity, anybody who is aware of me is aware of I’ve by no means picked these up,” Listing mentioned with amusing.
“However yeah, for some purpose, one thing instructed me I ought to in all probability reply this one. And thankfully I did.
“I used to be instructed that Tiger’s determined to present me the spot within the subject. And, you already know, simply listening to the phrases like, oh, Tiger’s chosen you to play was a pinch me second.”
Throughout the apply days, Listing caught up with Min Woo Lee, who he is aware of properly from his days in Perth, in addition to rubbing shoulders with Adam Scott and Jason Day.
He spent numerous hours at Cottesloe Golf Membership honing his craft as younger man, and stayed linked with Golf Australia’s nationwide packages as he globe trotted.
In Western Australia, he even labored with Ritchie Smith, who coaches Lee and his two-time main profitable sister Minjee, in addition to world quantity six Hannah Inexperienced.
It was a tough resolution to decide on which flag would sit subsequent to his title on leaderboards, however Australia gained out because the alternatives accessible within the sport in his father’s nation proved too engaging.
“I want I may characterize two nations on the identical time, Australia and Ghana,” Listing mentioned.
“I really feel like my golf in Australia was the place I may get a very good style of what competitors golf and correct circumstances are like. Studying how you can play within the wind amongst different issues.
“I really feel like Australia’s good circumstances for any golf course. You may maintain the greens quick, it may be windy. The local weather is simply conducive to having good golf programs, which it does.”
Listing additionally spent loads of time in England and america.
As a youngster, he left Ghana to attend boarding faculty in Surrey after taking pictures a good par spherical to assert a winner takes all competitors for a scholarship at Wellington Faculty.
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Homesickness was a problem, however his sport flourished, profitable the European Junior Championship as a 14-year-old and profitable England’s nationwide highschool championship in back-to-back years.
After highschool, Listing headed again to the nation of his beginning to attend the College of Washington in Seattle, however opted to show skilled after one yr.
It was in 2018 that he took the skilled plunge, and Listing has grinded away ever since.
The world No. 1056 took begins on the PGA Tour of Australasia, PGA Tour Latinoamerica, PGA Tour Canada and Korn Ferry Tour the place he may, however his huge breakthrough got here final yr, six years into his skilled profession.
Two rounds of 63, together with one on the ultimate day, throughout the gruelling six-round DP World Tour qualifying faculty earned him his card for the previously named European Tour this yr.
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It has been considerably of a blended begin, on the secondary Problem Tour, he produced a third-place end at a match in South Africa earlier this month.
However he missed the reduce at every of the Australian PGA Championship, the Australian Open, the Mauritius Open and the Qatar Masters.
Within the first two rounds of his maiden PGA Tour look, Listing will play alongside Michael Kim, who completed tied second finally week’s WM Phoenix Open, and J. J. Spaun, who was the recipient of the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption in 2016 and is a PGA Tour winner, on the Valero Texas Open in 2022.
Listing is keen to check how his sport compares to his enjoying companions and the various PGA Tour stars in motion this week, and he believes he belongs on the degree.
“Confidence is nice. I’ve not likely had the prospect to stack my sport up in opposition to a few of these guys but, however I like to inform myself I’m a Tour participant,” Listing mentioned.
“I earned my spot on the DP World Tour, so I wish to handle the nerves by telling myself I belong right here, which I imagine I do.”