Ahmad Zharfan Ahmadiah is set to become the first Bruneian to compete in the Special Olympics Asia Pacific Golf Masters Tournament in Macau, China.

The young athlete who departed the Sultanate for Macau yesterday will fly the flag for Special Olympics Brunei Darussalam (SOBD) in the April 22-27 tournament at the Caesars Golf Macau.

The competition will play host to three different categories level one individual skills competition, level two alternate shot team play (9 holes) and level five individual stroke play competition (18 holes).

Ahmad, who will be taking part in the level five competition with a handicap of 18 said, "I am very excited that I will be the first person to represent Brunei in golf."

"I started playing golf two years ago and I have been training hard every day," said Ahmad.

"Golf is my passion and I want to train hard so I can make my dream come true and play like Tiger Woods," he added.

Coaching Ahmad is his father, Ahmadiah Hj Suhaili.

Ahmadiah has been by his son's side the whole time and will be there for him during the competition.

"We hope that he will be able to bring something back to Brunei with him," said Ahmadiah.

"He has been exposed to playing against other people already so he has the competitiveness to do well.

"It can be hard at times but my son is a very fast learner with golf. It took me six to seven years to get an 18 handicap and my son did it in two years," he added.

Fourteen teams of the best Special Olympic golfers from twelve regions will be taking part in the event, accompanied by some 50 local and corporate golfers.

The 12 regions that will be represented are Australia, Austria, Brunei, China, Chinese Taipei, Great Britain, Hong Kong, India, Macau, Malaysia, South Africa and South Korea.

SOBD will be hosting a charity golf tournament in August to attract more athletes.

Through the charity event, SOBD hopes to raise funds so the athletes will have the opportunity to join more international events.

So far SOBD has set its eyes on the Special Olympics Asia Pacific Games in Newcastle, Australia that will be held in December.

Courtesy from Brunei Times