Jason Hak’s Seven Days in Scotland Five weeks before his heroics at the UBS Hong Kong Open, Jason Hak Shun-yat teed it up at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Playing over three of Scotland’s most famous courses – the Old Course at St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns – the 15-year-old enjoyed an unforgettable week in the company of some of the game’s biggest names. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBERT HELLER
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a vi ng ret urned home from Scotland, I’m now trying to catch up with all my school work. It’s really hard though, because all the great memories from my week there are still swimming around inside my head. I still can’t believe I was there – at the home of golf. My favourite day by far was the third round at the Old Course on Sunday, October 4. We were supposed to play the round on Saturday, but strong winds postponed the tournament by one day. We used the break in play to visit the British Golf Museum. It was fascinating to see golf through the ages here in the very place where golf was born. Looking at an exact replica of the Claret Jug, I tried to imagine what it was like to play at the first Open in 1860. Back then, players could only hit 150 yard drives. The balls were made out of leather and filled with feathers. Can you imagine that? Drawings and pictures of all the past champions lined the walls and I thought about how cool it would be to have my own picture there one day. Sunday, the weather was perfect for golf. It was sunny with very little wind. At breakfast, the other amateur in my group, Alvin, asked me what was our tee time. “11:37 a.m.,” I said. We’re the last group.” “Wow!” exclaimed Alvin. “Before you get too excited,” I told him, “I think you should know that we’re starting on the tenth tee.” All of Alvin’s excitement drained right out of his face. Usually, the leaders go out in the last group and finish on the eighteenth. We would finish on the ninth.
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After a strong start and getting birdies on the fourteenth and sixteenth, my foursome came to the tee box at the famous seventeenth – the “Road Hole.” The hole is completely blind. It is impossible to see the fairway from the tee. Luckily, I had already experienced this hole during practice. I hit a good drive over the shed by the hotel logo and it stopped on the left side of the fairway. My approach shot stopped right next to the infamous – and really deep – pot bunker that guards the left side of the green. I had two choices. I could either chip over the bunker, or putt around it. Both were risky and very difficult shots. After a long discussion with my caddie, Nick, I putted, and unfortunately, the ball rolled back down the hill into the bunker. A collective “awwww!” came from the galleries that were pressed along the ropes on the side of the fairway and in the road behind the green. I tried to calm down and told myself “no worries.” I hit a great shot out of the bunker, and even though I had to settle for two putts, it was a great experience. As I walked off the green, Alvin put things in perspective. “If you play the Old Course,” he said, “and you don’t hit that bunker, you haven’t played. That’s where ‘Showtime’ happens!” Photographers took our picture as we crossed the Swilcan Bridge. Even though we’d taken lots of pictures there earlier in the week, it was far more special getting snapped during the tournament. That kind of thing never gets old. On the eighteenth, a 340 yard par-four, I hit a perfect drive straight at the flag. I was anxious to see if it hit the green, and Nick, with his great knowledge of the Old Course, told me it had. That was a really great feeling. The combination of a following wind and a few good bounces got me to within twenty-five feet of the pin. Hundreds of people had gathered around the green and more were heading that way to see my attempt at eagle. I hit a perfect right to left uphill putt that found the bottom of the cup in front of a cheering gallery of four hundred strong! I gave a little fist pump like Tiger, but I didn’t go as nuts as I wanted. I didn’t want to take anything away from the pros. Maybe one day I’ll return here at The Open and make an eagle on 18 on Sunday to win! Then I’ll pump both my fists like crazy! A really funny thing happened on the ninth tee box, our last hole. While we were waiting to tee off, Nick looked over at Alvin and said, “Those are really nice shoes you’re HKGOLFER.COM
In the Auld Town (from left): Jason with rising Spanish star Pablo Larrazabal; teeing off in front of golf's most recognizable backdrop.
wearing today.” Alvin said, “Oh! After eighteen holes you finally noticed my new shoes, huh? These are Footjoy Icons. This is the first time I’ve worn them because I was saving them for the final round on the Old Course, and they’re really comfortable too.” I have to admit they were really great looking shoes and I wanted a pair, to which Alvin replied, “Jason, when you’re old enough to shave, then you can get some Icons like mine. Nick chimed in with: “Don’t worry, Jason. If you keep playing like you did today, you’ll turn pro and Footjoy will pay you to wear their beautiful shoes.” Ha! HKGOLFER.COM
Looking back on the last week in Scotland, I’m so glad for the invitation to play in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championships. I made lots of new friends, and I really grew to appreciate the uniqueness of the championship, especially the Pro-Am format on three of the greatest courses in the world. Playing a practice round with Pablo Larrazabal and his dad, and joking around with them, really made me feel part of the professional golfing family. Maybe one day I’ll return here as a professional and play with my dad, just like Rory McIlroy and Ernie Els did with their fathers this year. I’ll remember this last week for as long as I live. HK Golfer・Dec 2009/Jan 2010
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