India’s 17-year-old amateur golfer Rayhan Thomas’s performance at the Dubai Creek Open can best be described in a straight, one single line: He came, he saw, he conquered!  

 

  

                 Rayhan Thomas garnered a lot of attention and accolades after his mind-boggling performance

 

 

Dishing out an absolutely jaw-dropping performance, Rayhan, shot a 10-under 61 in Dubai during a round that included a record-tying nine consecutive birdies. Interestingly, Thomas, who is touted as the poster boy for the future of golf in both India and the Middle East, did so while playing alongside 2016 European Ryder Cup Captain Darren Clarke.

 

The young Indian, currently based in Dubai, started his run as early as the second hole, and his four at the par-five 10th matched the previous best in an Official World Golf Ranking event set by Mark Calcavecchia at the RBC Canadian Open in 2009.

 

The poster boy of Golf

 

 

                                      Darren Clarke described Rayhan Thomas as “a huge talent”

 

He started playing golf with his dad John, at the age of eight, before joining the Mena Tour in 2013, aged 13.

 

Rayhan, whose life revolves around Golf, took a tough decision to leave school and continue his studies at home through an online course that gave him the liberty to concentrate on golf and play tournaments without skipping classes.

 

A bagful of accolades

 

Darren Clarke, who was drawn to play alongside Thomas for the first two rounds, had a bagful of accolades for the young player. “He was very calm and composed and read the greens very well, which I couldn’t. Rayhan’s game is trending in the right direction and I think he has a great future of ahead of him. I wish him the very best."

 

The teenage prodigy, who is creating waves with his game, believes that one needs to shine at every stage as an amateur golfer before turning a true pro.