Dubai: The Professionals may have won the Dubai Golf Trophy for the ninth time in 11 years last weekend, but it was the amateurs who have unearthed an undoubted star in Daniel Hendry.
The 16-year-old, winner of the Emirates Golf Federation Junior Order of Merit in 2010, was paired against the top player in the professional ranks in Simon Payne - a daunting prospect for anybody, let alone a rookie in the cauldron of his first Dubai Golf Trophy.
And it seemed as if seasoned campaigner Payne, winner of three of the last four UAE PGA Order of Merit titles would run away with the match when he went four up after nine holes.
But young Hendry was having none of it, despite facing the most experienced of pro foes. Instead the youngster launched an astonishing fightback, picking up birdies at 10 and 11 to get back to two down.
But at the tricky 14th, Hendry left his approach short and right on a downslope with seemingly little chance of stopping the ball close enough to the flag to ensure a par four. "I've left myself in the worst place on the course," he told his watching father.
But in a show of extreme nerve, and no little golfing skill, Hendry hit a hard low pitch so precisely that it checked up even though the green was sloping away before diving into the hole for a remarkable birdie three to reduce the deficit to a single hole.
Payne was left astonished. "I expected him to make par," he told XPRESS. "In matchplay you have to expect that. But to toss it in hard like that when it runs away downhill and hole it. Well, I didn't see that coming. It was such a tough shot."
Payne eventually closed out the match on the 17th for the point that took the pros to the 16 they needed to retain the coveted trophy, but was full of praise for the young opponent who pushed him all the way.
"I had just picked up a club at that age. I couldn't play like that," said Payne. "He's a cracking kid. He's got loads of talent and a good all-round game. Daniel can hit all the shots: low, high, left and right.
"He's got a good temperament for golf too and that's important. You can see he's got a good head on his shoulders.
"For a 16-year-old, well, that was a really tough match - he was bang on, mate."
