appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

liveArticle

appConfig

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sectionsV2

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

json

SCMP Reporter

Jason Hak's success seemed to be resonating with this youngster at Fanling yesterday.
We place so much emphasis on the stars that it was indeed so refreshing when teenager Jason Hak Shun-yat reminded us that sports can be so much more than an unhealthy obsession with big names, many of them with even bigger egos.
The Tsim Sha Tsui-born Hak fired the imagination of the golfing community - not only in Hong Kong, but all over the world - when at 14, he became the youngest player to make the cut in a European Tour event, beating the previous record set by current world number two Sergio Garcia by 107 days.
Hak belies his name. The bespectacled teenager calmly fired successive 70s on the first two days of the Open to reach the halfway mark on even par. He didn't bring his 'A' game yesterday, but scrambled to a three-over-par 73.
In the context of the game, what Hak has done is mind-boggling. From a field of 144 mostly weather-beaten professionals - a handful are amateurs - he stood tall to qualify for the last two rounds of a US$2.5 million tournament. He is not eligible to claim prize money, but what he has achieved for Hong Kong is priceless.
'He will be an inspiration for other youngsters,' says Brad Schadewitz, Hong Kong's national junior coach. 'What he has done is amazing.'
Indeed. Six-time major winner Nick Faldo failed to make the cut. Former Chinese number one Zhang Lianwei also didn't make it. Others, many of whom are twice as old as Hak with a hundredfold more experience, also succumbed to the pressure. That is golf.
This year's tournament was supposed to be a celebration of the stars. The illustrious list of past champions included two-time winner Miguel Angel Jimenez, Colin Montgomerie, Jose Maria Olazabal and Bernhard Langer.
The latter two, along with the big-hitting John Daly and Michael Campbell, are also major winners.
No one expected Hak to steal the limelight as he did on Friday. Even the sponsors were caught by surprise, pleasantly so.
'In sports, it is always good to see the stars performing. But it is more fulfilling when a young kid like Jason does well,' said Oliver Bertschinger, head of sponsorship, UBS Asia Pacific.
'We hope this will inspire more local kids to take up golf.'
It is Hak, and not the stars, who has set the tournament alight. As always, the focus in the build-up had been on who would be coming to Hong Kong.
On that front, the organisers came up short as they couldn't get even one player from the world's top 10 for the 50th edition of the Open.
Even the presence of Daly was by providence. The American wasn't invited, but his manager, who also handles Rory Sabbatini, inquired if there was room for him and the organisers happily accepted the overture.
Daly is one of the few players in the world who is instantly recognisable and has a following wherever he goes. He has the X-factor which tournament organisers love. He is a man who everyone can relate to simply because of his human frailties. He is no picture-perfect postcard superstar who is seemingly above reproach.
The star quality, which Daly has in abundance, is what is needed if a sport is to catch on, according to Bertschinger, a devout sports fan.
'I remember, growing up in Switzerland, we had an athlete who was very good in shot putt. When Werner Gunter became the world champion, it raised the profile of shot putt hugely in my country. I hope this is what will happen in Hong Kong as far as golf is concerned now that Jason has done the seemingly impossible,' Bertschinger said.
It won't be easy as golf is still a rich man's game in Hong Kong. Schadewitz says until there are more facilities for the public - not places like the members-only Hong Kong Golf Club where a corporate membership will set you back a cool HK$8 million and there is a 20-year waiting list for individual membership - it will be hard to propagate the sport.
'The public course at Kau Sai Chau has helped us tremendously, but we need to make the sport more accessible to the public. This is our biggest hurdle,' Schadewitz said.
No surprise then that Hak is based overseas. When he was nine, his family moved to Beijing for two years and then on to Florida where he has been for the past three years.
But he is still part of a core group of youngsters who have been identified as the future of Hong Kong golf by Schadewitz. He has around 25 'elite' youngsters from the age of nine to 17, girls and boys, for whom he has high hopes.
This week, for the first time, two juniors qualified to play in the Open - Hak and Steven Lam Tsz-fung, who failed to make the cut but didn't disgrace himself.
'We have a small number right now. This has to grow. We need 10 to 15 players in each age group for competition is the best way to push people to do better,' says Schadewitz.
Hak knows this only too well. In Florida, he is one among hundreds of juniors trying to achieve the dream. But in Hong Kong he is the special one.
The Hong Kong Golf Association must now use his success to push for more benefits from the government and the corporate world.
'This will open lots of doors for us now that Jason has done something special. He has opened a lot of eyes to the possibility that a Hong Kong kid can go far in golf,' says Schadewitz.
This is just a start. What Hak has shown the rest of Hong Kong is that sport can be successfully played by anyone, and not only the stars. This will be the legacy of the 50th Hong Kong Open.
Who knows, 25 years from now, when the 75th Open is played at Fanling, a 39-year-old Hak might become the first Hong Kong golfer to win this tournament. Now, wouldn't that be something?



Alvin Sallay