“I want to stay working in the game forever”

A YOUNG GOLFER WITH OLD SCHOOL VALUES, AL ZORAH PGA TRAINEE STEFAN WEARS-TAYLOR IS GOING PLACES... AT HIS OWN PACE

Stefan Wears-Taylor needed a clear head to get the job done down the stretch in the UAE PGA’s flagship event. It’s clearly an innate trait, among other commendable on and off course characteristics, as the young South African considers his place in the bigger scheme of golfing things.

Wear-Taylor’s three-stroke win over Arabian Ranches’ Malcolm Young in last month’s UAE PGA Championship at Al Zorah capped a memorable debut season on the underrated regional circuit. It was a fourth victory for the 20-year-old since October following successes at Dubai Creek, The Track, Meydan Golf and Trump Dubai.

It all added up to the Al Zorah youngster finishing third on the season-long order of merit behind Creek pro Cennydd Mills and UAE PGA chief executive Steven Munro. More importantly, it vindicated a light bulb moment 20 months ago when Wears-Taylor was studying for a bachelors degree in education at North-West University in Potchefstroom and realised: “I couldn’t sit in a classroom any more.”

“I want to stay working in the game forever.”

Now into his second year of a PGA apprenticeship, that seems certain.

“I’m not sure which will bite first, teaching or management. I got very lucky [landing the shop attendant role at Al Zorah] and I’m very happy out here, especially working for Troon International. That just widens your opportunities. Then again, being a player [touring pro] can also take you around the world but I’m just enjoying what I have at the moment. We’ll see how it goes.”

Those far-sighted comments came after Wears-Taylor’s victory at Trump Dubai a fortnight before the PGA Championship. But surely now, after winning the season decider with rounds of 70-69 to finish -5, you must be eyeing the touring side of life?

“I think I need to give myself a chance and will look at some MENA Tour events just to test the water, how I play under more pressure. But the main focus is to finish the PGA qualification and try to perform better on the PGA circuit next season, get that done before making the big decision.”

Wears-Taylor is also mindful of a “weird” season which suddenly went off the boil mid campaign. He knows winning a UAE PGA event on his home course isn’t the same as competing on the MENA Tour or making the even bigger step beyond the developmental Middle East and North Africa tour.

“The [UAE PGA Championship] title is a solid finish to the year but my mind ran away a little bit in the middle of the season [as he started to think of winning the OOM title]. Actually Cennydd Mills told me after an OOM event at Al Zorah that the biggest mistake a lot of people make is to think about results and they don’t enjoy it.

“The GM here, Phil Henderson, said the same thing, take it one shot at a time and enjoy it. That advice has helped me a lot.”

Henderson is more than happy to play the mutual appreciation game.

“He’s blossoming into a real gentleman, isn’t he, it’s the thing everyone says,” the Al Zorah GM says of Wears-Taylor who greets everyone with a prefixed “Mr” or “Mrs”, a refreshingly old school trait.

“The UAE has been a real eye opener for him but he’s been nothing but a joy to work with. I’ve actually met his Mum and Dad and they are classy people. He’s clearly been brought up well and has definitely had a good education. His father seems quite a strict disciplinarian and has made [Stefan} work for everything. He’s got a real level head on his shoulders and definitely has some good things ahead of him.”

Not a pro prone to overexaggeration, Young knows the path to tour golf is littered with talented youngsters. But he saw enough in Wears-Taylor in their final round duel at Al Zorah, from his length off the tee to his inner calm, to believe the South African has a shot.

“I’ve played with a lot of people over the years and the main difference is mentality and inner drive. The game itself doesn’t often count as much as people think,” Young said.

He would recommend Wears-Taylor giving himself no more than a season on the MENA Tour to see if he has what it takes for the next level.

“He didn’t show too many weaknesses in his game and seemed to be decent with the putter which obviously needs to work. Maybe he is still learning the courses out here but to do anything half decent you need to be dominating our local circuit and then moving to the MENA Tour, then Asian or European Challenge Tour and then Q-School [for the main tour].

“I see some guys who are bringing it to the MENA Tour and nowhere else. Determination is one thing but staying power and consistency at high levels needs to come quickly to make it in the big leagues.

“You could compare him to [Dubai-based Indian amateur No.1] Rayhan Thomas and Rayhan obviously has a career intent which is the right path. But there are no guarantees, even for someone of Rayhan’s ability.”