Ryan Fernandez '18 Recruiting Profile

I was very fortunate to have grown up on a decent home course, with a grass driving range which is uncommon here in Malaysia and with a 36 hole golf course it was all an aspiring golfer like myself could dream of! I have developed into a golfer who has since competed against some of the top junior golfers in Malaysia. I thrive in this environment. The constant challenge of improving one’s game has developed my appreciation and understanding of how difficult it can be to compete at the highest levels.

Despite this, it was still far from an easy ride. For a long time, I was never one of the most highly regarded players, and due to my physique I was always struggling against my seniors. Seeing them being congratulated on good performances in tournaments and having media coverage gave me the drive to be acknowledged by members of my golfing community. My determination made me want to practice for hours and hours everyday, working hard in the gym and getting help from a swing coach, to try and find that breakthrough.

I recall the first time my school registered for an international golf event - FOBISIA Golf in 2016. I had been making vast improvements on my game and for once, expectations were high. This feeling of people actually believing in my abilities was what I desired for so long. However, I had an awful showing and finished 14th out of 22 players. After that competition, I felt like I let so many people down; our team coach, my fellow golfing peers who viewed me as their role model and also the school who were pinning their hopes on me to give them an excellent first impression.

Instead of this obstacle putting me down, I decided to use this as motivation - to ensure that this never happened again. I was back to square one. Back to the grind of putting in so many hours a day into my golf game to prove to everyone that the only way to go was up.  It is with great pleasure to say that it has paid off. I recently won my local club championship at 17 years of age, creating history as being the “youngest ever winner in the club’s 47 year existence.” said the general manager. It has ignited a flame in me, one that I never knew would exist, to take my game to the next level.

With the backing of my fellow peers and even the hundreds and hundreds of members of my golf club addressing me by the name ‘champion’ everytime I walk by, there’s no way I can let these people down. Not again at least.