There has been many youngsters at many golf tournaments around the world who have impressed many of the world’s best players.
But in my many years being present at coaching clinics conducted during the course of tournaments I can honestly not recall the interest generated when a six-year old Dubai youngster genuinely upstaged back-to-back Masters champions Tiger Woods and Mark O’Meara.
Sean Cooper was in the very front of a grandstand erected on the practice range at the Emirates Golf Club and host venue for the 25th anniversary Dubai Desert Classic.
The clinic commenced with Woods and O’Meara hitting a variety of shots and Woods in particular endearing himself to the audience with reference to disappointing start to his season a week earlier at Torrey Pines.
It was O’Meara who suggested ‘let’s now get someone from the audience to come out here and hit a few balls’ and then pointing to Sean remarking: “How about the young fellow in the Augusta National cap?”
Sean, wearing not one but two Desert Classic passes, jumped at the opportunity and first asked his name by O’Meara with Woods then walking up to Sean with his outstretched hand to say: “Hi Sean. I’m Tiger. Nice to meet you”.
What took place over the next four minutes was truly memorable with Sean not only impressing everyone present but also a third Masters champion in Fred Couples who was looking on with much interest.
“I noticed he’s already got a Masters cap, so one day he could win the Masters,” said Couples.
Sean’s appearance on the range ended with O’Meara offering him a high-five but as the youngster turned to return his 8-iron to the nearby golf bag Woods could be heard demanding: “Hey, hey, hey, hey”. Sean then shared a high-five with the long-running World No. 1.
Sean is a Grade II student of Jumeirah Primary School in Dubai and it seemingly made no difference to him who was on the range that day. t could have been a journeyman pro let alone it was a 14-time Major Champion and his double Major winning good friend.
But then as Sean’s mother, Elaine Stannard explained her young son was not introduced to golf in the usual manner.
“My husband Feargal, who is from Ireland, gave Sean a hurley (the wooden stick used for hurling) when he turned one, but all Sean would do is use it as a golf club,” said Elaine.
“We have never tried to push Sean to golf, but we always watched the telecast of the final round of PGA events on Sunday, and he just picked it up from there.
“Interestingly, he has never played with a plastic set. Such was his interest in golf, we bought him a set at the age of two.”
Exhibiting talent at age two seems to be a trait among the world’s greatest golfers as Woods was just two years of age when he appeared on the Mike Douglas Show.
Sean was just two years and four months old when he just happened one day to take his putter to the Els Club in Dubai and there standing beside him on a practice putting green was his idol – McIlroy.
“Sean loves Rory and he’s his idol,” said Elaine.
“He likes to watch him play on TV, and also likes to criticise him if he hits a bad shot.”
Two year old Sean Cooper meets his idol, Rory McIlroy on the practice putting green at the Els Club in Dubai.
You won’t find any posters of McIlroy on Sean’s bedroom wall but his mother says he does keep copies of Golfing World magazine in his bedroom locker with his favourite editions naturally those with McIlroy on the cover.
Since turning four, Sean has been a part of Mark Gregson-Walter’s Grassroot Golf, and the renowned coach has decided to give the boy private tuition because of his immense talent.
He has an EGF handicap of 35, which is likely to come down after shooting a round of 101 – six below his handicap – from the ladies tee in last week’s GEMS tournament.
“The thing about Sean is that all this is from within,” said his mother.
Two year old Sean Cooper and his father Feargal and the birthday gift of a hurling stick. (Photo – Elaine Stannard)
“He is so dedicated, he can play golf all day if given a chance. He never comes home willingly even if he had played for three or six hours.
“He wants to be the best in the world, that’s it. It’s not even an ambition in his mind. It is a foregone conclusion. He will often tell me how he’d go to America and play on the Tour. The little boy has everything figured out.”
Recently Sean turned seven and rather than a birthday party at the local McDonald’s he wanted to celebrate his birthday, or a golf party, at The Track and Dubai’s newest golf course.
“For his birthday, all he wanted was a golf party,” said Elaine.
“So, we invited some of his friends and played a round at The Track in Meydan. Last year, he wanted the entire set of Ryder Cup DVDs as his birthday gift, and that is all he watches during his DVD time on Saturdays.
“I need to mention here that The Track have been great supporters. They are generally very supportive of junior golf, and they are very welcoming of Sean.”
Sean competed in a number of tournaments including capturing the Aged 6/7 Grass Roots Golf competitions held on Par 3 course at Emirates Golf Club while he was third overall in a GEMS Education tournament during the first week of February.
More recently, Sean’s parents entered him in the 2014 Oceanico World Kids Golf Championship to be staged in July at Vilamoura in Portugal. Fortunately for Sean the three round tournament is being held the week after this year’s Open Championship meaning Sean will get to watch full TV coverage of McIlroy competing at Royal Liverpool.
There is plans also for Sean to compete in junior events in Ireland.
No sooner had the video of Sean ‘upstaging Woods and O’Meara’ appeared on YouTube and there were queries from around the globe seeking the identity of this unassuming, unaffected and unfazed Dubai youngster.
And while everyone including Woods, O’Meara and Couples warmed to Sean, the youngster took it all in his stride not even asking for an autograph or a photo, and as you can see in the video he had to be prompted into ‘high-fiving’ O’Meara and Woods who can be heard saying: “Hey? Hey? Hey?”
“Sean was not affected at all by the whole thing,” said Elaine.
“He did not even wait to take an autograph from Tiger or Mark. He just ran away to the village area, where he wanted to hit a few chips in one of the interactive areas.
“Someone asked him the other day, and Sean replied: ‘He’s Tiger Woods. He is a golfer. I am Sean Cooper. And I am a golfer too’.”
What left is there to say other than to thank Elaine in allowing me to join my good friend and renowned 360 Sport journalist Joy Chakravarty in identifying the youngster who upstaged Tiger Woods and Mark O’Meara, and to wish Sean well in both his school and certainly his golf endeavours.
