Lessons in life put Othi above par
Promising golfer on his way to the top thanks to help from golf ‘dad’
Othi has learnt to always compliment his opposition, to thank God for his talent and to thank Nel for believing in him.
When meeting Othimna Matiwana, one can’t help but be moved by this humble and talented young man and be touched by his golf “dad”, Dr Leon Nel, who continues to mentor this 16-year-old and strives to do everything he can to help Othi reach his dream of one day becoming a professional golfer.
Nel first met Othimna’s mother as a patient. She was being treated for cancer and sadly passed away over a year ago. A week before she passed away, she asked Nel to look out for her son, Othimna.
At the time, 15-year-old Othi was a pupil at Kuyasa High School and had joined Colin’s Golf School at Rosehill Mall.
Nel, a keen golfer himself, watched Othi play and was inspired by his raw talent. In one year, Othi moved from a 12 handicap to scratch.
Nel encouraged Othi to enter golf competitions and watched the young golfer blossom, winning most of them.
Recognising his remarkable talent, Nel contacted PGA and EP Golf and was referred to the Louis Oosthuizen Foundation in George.
He applied on Othi’s behalf, but unfortunately they were only interested in players from Mossel Bay and George.
He was advised to phone the Ernie Els Foundation and spoke with Hannes van Niekerk, who had heard about Othi’s success and said that he was willing to take him on when he turned 18 and had completed matric.
In the interim, Othi achieved second place in an EP Golf junior tournament and second in South Africa in Kimberley.
After this success, Nel once again spoke to Hannes van Niekerk, who coaches junior Springboks, and he suggested that Othi be sent to a satellite golf coach at PE Golf Club.
An opportunity came up when the PGA Centenary was held at the Royal Port Alfred Golf Club and Nel arranged for Othi to play with locals Noel Stotter and Mark Warren, and to introduce Othi to Ivano Picaldi, representing PGA Golf.
He was also introduced to the fundraiser for KwaZuluNatal Midlands-based independent school Michaelhouse.
Little came of this, except that Othi was now getting more attention as he continued to win tournaments.
Finally Dave Usendorff, head professional at PE Golf Club, revealed that he had been watching Othi’s progress for over a year and had come up with an extraordinary sponsorship deal.
Grey High School in Gqebertha offered to sponsor Othi and fellow player Devon Valentine.
Othi went on to win the senior EP Country Districts Golf South Africa as a junior player.
When asked what his future ambitions are, Othi said that he would like to qualify for the South African team and that ultimately he wanted to be a professional golfer.
Nel said that he was seriously humbled by Othi’s talent and commitment and was proud to be his golf “dad”. He said his greatest satisfaction was to watch Othi hit a ball and to see how excited he was to play.
Othi said that he had learned to be responsible and disciplined, and that to be a great golfer one must first be a great person. This means being principled and learning to be a gracious loser, never to feel entitled and to appreciate that nothing is free.
Othi has been invited to be part of Grey’s touring team to play, among others, at St Andrew’s in Scotland next year. He has already applied for his passport and is proud of the fact that every time he plays golf, he represents Port Alfred too.
He has learnt to always compliment his opposition, to thank God for his talent and to thank Nel for believing in him.
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