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O’Kola a golf champion at six

by Barbados Today
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Barbadian Ashton O’Kola came up against the world’s best and emerged as champion on Tuesday in the boy’s five to seven age group of the premier golf tournament called the State Farm Youth Classic played at Bloomington-Normal located in Illinois.

The six-year-old student of St. Luke’s Academy School said it felt good to place first with an overall lowest net stroke of 66 while the next best finishers Logan Phegley with 80 and Hudson Bryant 83 are both from the state of Illinois.

This was a great improvement for O’Kola who came runner-up last year but secured the top podium finish this time around.

“It feels good to come in the first place! And I felt great when I scored an eagle. Now I know what it feels like to be number one,” he told Barbados TODAY.

The young golfer explained that he has had to train a lot harder to reach his standard. “I had to concentrate on taking my time and lining up the ball. I had to work on putting and chipping.”

As it relates to the competition this time around, O’Kola stated, “I felt like this year was less competitive than last year because I feel like I got a lot better this year. Now I can chip better, I have better coordination with my caddie, and at six I played a lot better than when I was five.”

As he shared what this year’s competition was like against an all-American field of young competitors ranging from ages three to 22, O’Kola explained, “I played well though I felt like I could have played a little better. I walked up behind the ball, took two practice swings, took a deep breath and executed my shot.

“I felt like Tiger Woods when I played the last day, I felt so good and I got an eagle. It was almost albatross because on my second shot I chipped the ball and it hit the pin and it almost went into the hole. So, I almost did a par five in two shots but I had to putt so I did it in three. I felt phenomenal.”

O’Kola praised his father Andrew, also his caddie throughout the tournament. “My caddie is so good. He was the greatest caddie in the world. He behaved good, he listened to me, he gave me good advice, and he made me calm down.”

The talented O’Kola noted that he did not mind being the only Caribbean representative at the State Farm tournament. 

“I don’t care where my opponents come from, because I just focus on beating them. I don’t care where they come from, I don’t care how they speak, I just focus on beating them,” he added.

O’Kola shared his plans for the remainder of the year. “I have a big Under Armour tournament at Disney World. I’m excited about that one because I would like to see Mickey Mouse and just chillax. Then in August, I have world championships at Pinehurst, the British Kids Championships in England and then the Australian Open after that.”

morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb

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