Tunisian golf looks up with Wellani win

Egypt hogged the limelight with both the titles at the 5th Pan Arab golf here late on Tuesday. But, it was one silent Tunisian who stood in the shadow of it all, relishing every moment, as though it belonged to him.

Indeed, Hassin Wellani was the star of the evening after clinching the individual title in the under-18 category.

"It's all down to the hard work of all concerned in the sport," Tunisian coach Danilo Palma says with a smile, equally cherishing the moment.

Wellani had creditable scores of 74 and 78 for a total of 152 to come clean as the best individual golfer at the end of two days at the Emirates Golf Club.

So dominating was his form that the runner-up, Spiro Marmaras from Egypt, was 11 shots adrift with 163, while Abdullah Al Mosharrekh was placed third with an identical score.

"And Hassin lost two shots due to a penalty because he teed off from a wrong tee," coach Palma states.

At the end of last month, Wellani clinched the runner-up spot at the Arab competition held in Bahrain. "This time, it was one step forward," Wellani, 18, nods.

Wellani took up golf a little over two years ago. "Two years back, his handicap was 20. Today, his handicap is 7.5, and bound to go down even further after such good performances," the coach states.

Golf did not have a big following in Tunisia. Not until the arrival of the half American, half Italian coach named Danilo Palma nearly three years back.

"My first task was to get the youngsters involved in the game," Palma recollects.

And youngsters like Wellani along with teammates Abdul Aziz Bel Khodija, Foued Telemceni, Azzezddine Azzoz and Salim Ettriqui started taking things seriously at the Golf Citrus Training Centre in Hammamet, a 35-minute drive from Tunisian capital, Tunis.

"These juniors are serious golfers, and they make time thrice a week to be on the course," Palma states.

Golf is not too big in this North African country. And eight golf courses for the 10 million population seems a bit of a mis-match. "We hardly have any golf at the grassroots level," Palma observes.

"Whatever start has been made is as recent as three years ago," he states.

However, signs that this has been a sound start, are very encouraging. The entire pool of players at the senior and junior levels stands at a mere 15 at the moment. "But this number is bound to go up shortly as we've started initiating golf as a subject at the school level," Palma discloses.

And the results have been heart-warming. As many as 46 children are tipped to be part of the golf training school in Hammamet shortly. "The fruits have started to show, and it won't be long before younger players start coming through the development programme and Tunisia can successfully vie for the team titles as well," he nods.

With so much going on, it is Wellani who gets a generous dose of the praise from his coach.

"He has two other brothers who also play golf. But I've told all back home that this player will be the one to watch in the future," he smiles proudly.

What is so special about this wiry teenager? "He has the attitude and the mind for the game," the coach states.

"He realises he has a lot of work to do on the course. But he is also aware that he has the mental strength to be at the top," the coach adds.