Gilroy golfer wins Northern Calif. title, qualifies for World
Championship
GILROY – He sits at home for hours and studies the swings of his favorite golfers on television.
He studies the wind patterns before each shot and studies the greens before each putt.
He started swinging clubs when he was 18 months old, started going to the driving range when he was 2 and attended a local golf camp for teenagers when he was 5.
Oh, and just last month he won the Northern California championship by eight shots and will compete for a world championship this week.
Alright, so he’s 46 inches tall and weighs in at 45 pounds. OK, so he’s currently missing two of his front teeth.
So yeah, he’s six years old.
But take my word for it, you don’t want to take him on.
Later this week, Gilroy-native Ryan Slater will join around 700 boys and girls from all around the globe to compete at the Junior World Championships in Williamsburg, Va.
Grouped in the 6-and-under division, Slater will face off against a practical Who’s Who of really small golfers. The dreaded Luis Gagne of northern Florida will be there, as well as the always-tough Andy Ogletree of Mississippi.
And of course, there’s the practically immortal defending champion, Allenby Jiro Ramos of the Phillipines.
So obviously young Ryan needed to get some practice in before he left, and that’s where I entered the picture.
Having just recently moved to the area, I was eager to hit up the local courses and see if I could lower my 48 handicap. Plus, I was eager to help out my fellow Gilroyans in any way that I could.
So although it was tempting to remain in the office for the duration of a beautiful Friday afternoon, I decided to take on the hometown kid and prepare him for the world’s best.
Slater had high hopes – he told me he was expecting a top 10 finish in Virginia. He also wears a polo shirt with a collar that reads: “I AM THE FUTURE.”
So I figured a loss would humble him and force him to correct his mistakes before the big event.
Yes, it sounded like such a good idea at the time.
Then we started playing.
