Sun City - The dream of any young amateur golfer is to turn professional. The money, the prestige and the opportunity to emulate their idols fires their ambition.
But the fairways are not always paved with gold.
Keenan Paulsen is such a golfer. He took the bold decision to become a pro at the tender age of 22 and is one of eight players who have joined the paid ranks this year playing at the Dimension Data Pro-Am this week.
But in only his second tournament with his new title the Johannesburg based Paulsen is already finding the going tough. "I said to some of my colleagues that I was home sick and they just laughed and said that it was only my second tournament away from home. As an amateur I used to see my family every day and I miss that."
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Paulsen is one of many young players that have come through the Ernie Els Foundation of Golf and made his debut as a pro at the Africa Open a fortnight ago.
Unfortunately he missed the cut by five strokes and attributed his failure to his new status.
"I definitely felt pressure in East London," he said of his debut. "On the last five holes I was so worried about the cut that I choked. I dropped five shots in those last holes."
But Paulsen, who has a Sports Psychologist qualification, seems to have a good head on his shoulders and realises what is required for success.
"As a professional you need to work a lot on the mental side of the game. In fact I think it is 90 percent mental. I just need to think that I am the same amateur golfer and keep playing like I used to."
Paulsen is also humbly grateful for the support he has received as a development player. "Nashua sponsors me for tournament costs which really helps. I also get what is called development invites to tournaments so I don't have to qualify. I got one for the Africa Open and will get one for the Nashua Masters next week.
"I am truly blessed for the invites." - Sapa
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