ODEMWINGIE
Former Baggies star sets sights on PGA Tour after first pro victory... but reckons golf is EVEN HARDER than winning at Anfield!
IT had to be an omen – Peter Odemwingie’s first victory as a fledgling golf professional came within sight of Molineux.
The former Nigerian international wrote himself into Black Country folklore back in February 2012 by grabbing a hat-trick for West Brom in the 5-1 derby defeat of Wolves on their own turf.
Odemwingie, 40, has clubs of a different sort on his mind these days and his maiden triumph evoked memories of past glories. The former striker came first in a Pro-Am team event last September at Oxley Park, within two miles of Wolves’ home.
He said: “My overall aim is to become a PGA professional. It’s not just about playing, I’m completing a three-year course where you are taught everything about the industry.
“But I am competing. I decided to turn professional when I was off a handicap of three. I’d played in a few events when I won the one at Oxley Park.
“Maybe Wolverhampton brings out the best in me, I don’t know.”
Odemwingie (right) was born in Uzbekistan, played as a young professional mainly in the Russian League and furthered his international ambitions in Nigeria.
After leaving Lokomotiv Moscow in 2010 he found a home in the Midlands and it was just seven years ago after he quit The Hawthorns for a move to Cardiff City en route to Stoke City, that he even started taking golf seriously at all.
He said: “I took up the sport when I left West Brom and I’m self-taught. I just studied YouTube videos. I had a few chats with people. I didn’t do it properly. I did it my own way. At first, people were laughing at me on the range. I bought five baskets of balls and was trying to figure it out for myself. I was there for hours.
“They said, ‘Peter, seriously, it’s better to pay for a few lessons, than hit all these balls.’ But I said, ‘No, I’m doing it myself ’. And that helps me now. I can coach beginners and children. I wanted to know all the mistakes an amateur would make.
“It helped me because I’ve been down the path and I can argue, or discuss, should
I say, with people about bad habits. Obviously, it’s easier to never have picked them up.
“I only started lessons six months ago with Alistair Davies, who is based at the Forest of Arden club in Meriden, near Birmingham – until then I was self-taught.”
The PGA course Odemwingie is taking involves all aspects of the golf industry, from coaching through to learning the skills necessary to run a golf club.
The ex-Baggies striker says his ambition is to coach himself.
He said: “I’m mostly in it for the coaching, to help grow the game in places such as Russia and Nigeria. My ambition is to invest my time, drive academies.
“As for playing, my ambition is the EuroPro Tour. It’s the level below the Challenge Tour. That’s where I’m aiming in a couple of years’ time.
“If I can play at that level I can earn money competitively. It won’t be much though.
“Can I do it? I believe I can. I have a little bit inside of me to play to a decent level. I’m a man of faith and you have to believe in what you do. Without that belief, firstly, you won’t enjoy it and secondly, you won’t succeed.
“When I first went to West Brom, we went up to Liverpool. When I walked on the Anfield pitch, I didn’t say to myself, ‘It’s impossible to win here with them having Luis Suarez and Jamie Carragher’. It was always possible.
“We did win. But golf is different. It’s harder than people think.
“It’s a battle with yourself. With your emotions. It eats you up.”
■■Peter Odemwingie was speaking at the Midlands’ Football Legends’ Charity Golf Day, the first in a five-part series featuring former players. More info at www.watsonmettersgolf.com