“I tell him to remember that he is here to compete with himself and no one else,” he said.
However he said they have had to deal with his emotions because he is only seven years old.
“We’ve been struggling a lot with emotions. He cries a lot when he loses and even when he hits the ball (does well). He cries to the point where he can’t concentrate,” said Tshabalala.
But his father said this is something that they have been working on in teaching him to be disciplined.
“It’s not easy to be a caddy, father, friend, mother and to be an everything to him. When we travel we can’t take his mother because it’s too expensive,” Tshabalala said.
The young golfer is expected to appear at several tournaments across the world in 2019 including the World Championship which will be held in August in the United States of America.
Tshabalala said he has had to fund his sons career and this has put a financial strain on their family.
“It’s very expensive and we are looking for sponsorships,” he said.
He said his son’s dream was to meet some of his favourite golfers such ad Tiger Woods and Louis Oosthuizen.
The tournament in Australia was played at the Riverside Oaks Golf Resort, some 65km northwest of Sydney in New South Wales.
Dad thrilled by young golfer's prowess
The father of the boy who has gained the attention of the golf world said their shared love of the game has strengthened their father and son relationship.
At the weekend Simthandile ‘SimTiger’ Tshabalala, 7, finished second at the 2019 Australian Open gold championship. To date he has accumulated over 20 trophies in just eight months of competing, according to his father, Bonginkosi Tshabalala. Tshabalala said he was thrilled with Simthandile's effort after experiencing difficulties finalising their visas last week.
“The fact that we had difficulties getting to Australia affected his game. We arrived the day before the tournament started and he was tired. Other competitors had already arrived days before and had learned the course. He did not know the course and he still finished in the top five,” said the proud father.
Tshabalala said he started taking his son to the golf course while he was only four years old.
“When he was four, I would take him with and he started playing with my clubs. I decided to buy him his own clubs so that we could both focus on our games,” he said.
Tshabalala said after he noticed that the young champ was talented he tried to find a place to train him because he was not skilled to do so.
“I took him to the Golf School of Excellence in Heidepark and they told me he was good. He started competing in August last year and is now the youngest member at Steyn City Golf Club.
“When you put that boy on a golf course he just becomes something else.”
Tshabalala said he uses golf to teach SimTiger valuable life lessons.
“I tell him to remember that he is here to compete with himself and no one else,” he said.
However he said they have had to deal with his emotions because he is only seven years old.
“We’ve been struggling a lot with emotions. He cries a lot when he loses and even when he hits the ball (does well). He cries to the point where he can’t concentrate,” said Tshabalala.
But his father said this is something that they have been working on in teaching him to be disciplined.
“It’s not easy to be a caddy, father, friend, mother and to be an everything to him. When we travel we can’t take his mother because it’s too expensive,” Tshabalala said.
The young golfer is expected to appear at several tournaments across the world in 2019 including the World Championship which will be held in August in the United States of America.
Tshabalala said he has had to fund his sons career and this has put a financial strain on their family.
“It’s very expensive and we are looking for sponsorships,” he said.
He said his son’s dream was to meet some of his favourite golfers such ad Tiger Woods and Louis Oosthuizen.
The tournament in Australia was played at the Riverside Oaks Golf Resort, some 65km northwest of Sydney in New South Wales.
“I tell him to remember that he is here to compete with himself and no one else,” he said.
However he said they have had to deal with his emotions because he is only seven years old.
“We’ve been struggling a lot with emotions. He cries a lot when he loses and even when he hits the ball (does well). He cries to the point where he can’t concentrate,” said Tshabalala.
But his father said this is something that they have been working on in teaching him to be disciplined.
“It’s not easy to be a caddy, father, friend, mother and to be an everything to him. When we travel we can’t take his mother because it’s too expensive,” Tshabalala said.
The young golfer is expected to appear at several tournaments across the world in 2019 including the World Championship which will be held in August in the United States of America.
Tshabalala said he has had to fund his sons career and this has put a financial strain on their family.
“It’s very expensive and we are looking for sponsorships,” he said.
He said his son’s dream was to meet some of his favourite golfers such ad Tiger Woods and Louis Oosthuizen.
The tournament in Australia was played at the Riverside Oaks Golf Resort, some 65km northwest of Sydney in New South Wales.