Congratulations on the title! Winning the Maestraunza at just 16 – how does that feel?
It’s definitely something special. The Club Championship only takes place once a year, so there’s only one chance each year to win the title. It’s a great honour for me to be Club Champion at my home club. I think this was the fifth or sixth time I’ve played in it – and now I’ve finally done it.
When during the round did you first think: I might actually win this today?
Surprisingly, I wasn’t particularly nervous before the tournament or even before the second day. That changed on the 16th hole during the second round. That’s when I realised: this might actually happen. And that’s when I started to feel the nerves a little.
And what do you do when the nerves suddenly kick in on the 16th?
Eat. (laughs) I always have something to snack on during a round and make sure I eat and drink regularly. Somehow, I feel like it calms me down. And I usually have chewing gum in my mouth. That helps too.
So the secret to becoming Club Champion is snacks and chewing gum?
Unfortunately, it’s not quite that easy. (laughs) But apparently they didn’t hurt.
You’re also not one of those players who spends hours on the range before a tournament. Why?
No, not at all. In fact, I try not to spend too much time on the range before tournaments. If I warm up for too long, I start thinking about my swing and looking for things that might not even be there. Too many thoughts are usually not a good thing in golf. That applies both on and off the course, by the way. You just have to play the ball.
Apart from that, though, golf takes up quite a lot of your time. What does a normal week of training look like?
During the holidays, I train pretty much every day. When I’m at school, I still try to train for at least two and a half hours a day. I also go to the gym three times a week. Monday is my only day off because I have a long day at school.
At least two and a half hours of golf after school – voluntarily?
Yes. If I don’t go and train, I get bored sooner or later anyway. So it doesn’t really feel that extreme to me.
It all started at Engadine Golf Club when you were nine. What happened from there?
I attended my first junior training session with Davide Albertini and John Wraight when I was nine and stayed in the programme until I was about 14. After that, I joined the development squad in Domat/Ems and also trained a lot on my own. Since this year, I’ve also been training privately with Marcos Moreno.
What has changed since you started training with Marcos? What can he still teach you, given that you’re already clearly very, very good at golf?
Since I started working with Marcos, my training has become more structured. Of course, we work on the finer details of my swing, but also on strategy and career planning. It’s not about changing a lot, but about perfecting the small things that can ultimately make a big difference. I’m also learning to train more purposefully rather than simply hitting as many balls as possible. Marcos notices things that I don’t see myself and gives me advice on how to refine certain technical details.
Golf wasn’t your only big passion for a long time. You’d also been playing ice hockey at a very high level since you were five. In April, you decided to stop. Why?
It wasn’t an easy decision. Ice hockey had been a big part of my life for a very long time, and a lot of my friends play hockey. But deep down, I had actually chosen golf quite a while ago. The question wasn’t really whether I would choose golf, but when.
Why did golf win?
Because I think I have greater potential in golf to go really far. I want to find out what’s possible if I focus on it completely.
And what exactly does “go really far” mean?
The goal is very clear: to play on Tour.
There are quite a few Tours…
The PGA Tour.
You’re 16. Other teenagers your age are thinking about what to do at the weekend – you’re planning the next steps in your golf career. What are they?
From January, I’ll be attending high school in South Africa for six months. In winter, it’s difficult to train consistently and under good conditions in Switzerland. In South Africa, I can combine school and training much better and continue developing my game.
And after that?
My goal would be to get into a college in the US. I think that’s the most promising route for improving my golf while continuing my education at the same time. And probably the only realistic one: most top players have taken that route.
You’re prepared to give up ice hockey, train for several hours every day and move to South Africa for golf – and perhaps later to the US. What is it about golf that fascinates you so much?
Golf challenges you in a new way all the time. You can train a lot and still find that not everything works every day. That’s exactly what makes it so exciting. You’re very much responsible for what happens out on the course. And I simply want to find out how good I can become.
Last question: You’re 16 now. We meet again in ten years’ time. Where should we expect to find you?
Hopefully on Tour. That’s definitely the goal. But there’s still a lot of work to do before then.
