South African 8 year old Golfing prodigy is making waves
Traigh Pathon from Cape Town played his first round of golf at the tender age of 4, and since then he has been making waves and hitting all the right shots.
Traigh Hunter Pathon was born on the 8th March 2010 and is currently in Grade 2 at Wynberg Boys. Traigh grew up on the Cape Flats and is the youngest of 5 children. He has 4 sisters, Ammaarah, Bilquis, Tara and Emma
The talented South African has shown incredible golfing talent since he was just 18 months old. He has played golf and trained hard in the last few years. He started playing in his first SA Kids golf tournament since he was 4 years and 8 months old and entered in the age 5 – 6 category. Traigh is a member of SA Kids Golf a non-profit supporting children’s golf competitions and has played in almost all monthly tournaments for the last 3 years.
But it was in August 2017 at San Lameer Golf Estate, where Traigh played his first international competition.
140 boys and girls from around the world entered the competition. 100 from Africa and 40 internationals. Traigh played with 14 boys age 7 in a 3-day intense competition. His parents were very proud to say he came 3rd overall and shot a qualifying score which opened the doors for him to compete around the globe.
It was in December that year that Traigh travelled with his Dad to compete in the Malaysia World Kids Golf Open, a 3-day competition in Tanjong Puteri. Amidst the weather conditions, blistering heat and rain downpours, Traigh tied for 7th place out of 24 boys in his age category. An amazing achievement!
On 17 and 18th February 2018, Traigh entered a 2 day US Qualifier Tournament in Jhb, at the JHB Country Club. He was still 7 years old and entered in the age 8 category to qualify for the following tournaments. Only 1st place in each age group would receive the 1 place to represent SA.
Traigh shot a 38 on day 1 and a 38 on day 2 winning the 1 place for the following tournaments:
- Pepsi Little People Tournament
- World Junior Challenge
- The Youth Classic
- IMG Academy World Youth Championship
- The Optimist International Junior Golf Championship
In May 2018, Traigh and his Dad travelled to Scotland to play in the European Kids Golf Tournament. Traigh played in the age 8 age group. He was 1 of 53 boys playing at Longniddry Golf Club in East Lothian. Over the 3 days, Traighs final score was 107, 1 under par over 3 days of 9 holes. He was the highest placed South African and just 6 shots off the winner who shot a 101.
Traigh is now preparing for the USA Kids World Golf Championship, Paris Open & Junior Africa Challenge 2018 but does need South Africa’s assistance to get him there.