Yannik Paul hopeful of inspiring Bahrain’s young golfers

TDT | Manama                                                     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

German professional golfer Yannik Paul is hopeful of inspiring young players in the Kingdom when he competes amongst a star-studded field at next month’s Bahrain Championship.

The 29-year-old will be taking to the fairways at the Royal Golf Club for the DP World Tour event from February 1 to 4, and he is excited about the opportunity of playing in a new country.

Paul will be making his first trip to Bahrain, and while gunning for his second career tour victory, hopes to make an impact amongst local golfers as well, especially the youth.

“It’s important to go to new places every year, inspire the next generation, where people are not as familiar with golf,” Paul said. “[If we can] go there and inspire 100 people, not even 1,000 people, it can help grow the game and help some people to get into a bit.

That’s what we all strive for. “It’s a massive thing if you can help the next generation come up and see [a tournament] first hand.

If the young kids get excited for [golf ] and start at a young age, there is no reason why they cannot compete at the highest level.

Hopefully a lot of young people can come out and watch and we can inspire some of them to follow their dreams. “If you believe in it, anything is possible.” Paul is particularly looking forward to playing in Bahrain, having already competed in other DP World Tour events across the Gulf in past seasons.

“My caddie has been to Bahrain a lot of times and he showed me a lot of videos of cool restaurants and stuff like that, so I’m really excited,” said Paul, who is set to play in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic teeing off Thursday in the UAE.

“I like the Middle East in general. It’s nice not to stay in one place but to go to a lot of different countries in the [region] and get to know their culture and what they are known for.

‘Extra excitement’ “It’s always good to go to new places, you don’t really know what to expect and you don’t know how the golf course will look like. It’s always a bit of extra excitement, and I’m pumped to go [to Bahrain] in a few weeks.”

Paul had been preparing for his DP World Tour campaign at his home base in Arizona, the US.

He is now in the UAE where he competed in the Dubai Invitational last week and finished tied-eighth.

Following the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, he is also expected to be in the field for the Ras Al Khaimah Championship from January 25 to 28, the last stop on the tour before Bahrain.

“There was a lot of good stuff for me in 2023; I feel like I improved, a lot of the stats improved, and I became a much better golfer; I hope to continue to do that, it’s a new season,” Paul said. “I am confident where my game is at. I have a lot of potential and I can still improve a lot. I feel really good and I will try to enjoy it and get good shots.”

General admission to the Bahrain Championship is free of charge for spectators while there is also a host of premium experiences available along with live music, a wealth of food and beverage options, and activities for the whole family