I can’t tell you the number of YouTube videos I’ve watched of Tiger Woods, the man who inspired my middle name. I’d get in trouble when I was supposed to be studying because I had golf on my iPad. He was a massive inspiration to me not only because he won so much but by how many lives he impacted through golf. I knew from a young age that I wanted to play golf and help people in a positive way.
I was born in a small town in South Africa in 2001. My dad tried to name me after a cricket player, Sachin Tendulkar, but my mom vetoed it. My dad loved golf, so he named me after Tiger. Golf wasn’t big in our town, so when I was getting christened, everyone in the church wondered why my parents named me after an animal.
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My dad, a scratch handicap, taught me to play golf as soon as I could grip a club. I was obsessed with it and hit balls in the living room with plastic clubs. When I was 8, we moved to the U.K., where we joined the local golf club and started training. My dad and I woke up at 4:30 in the morning, made hot chocolate and hit balls into a net in our back yard. After school, I went to the range and hit balls. After work at his dental practice, my dad would join me, and we’d be there until dark.
I was terrible at first and could barely hit the ball, but I got better quickly and played local junior tournaments and then the U.S. Kids European Championships in Scotland. I finished dead last. I went out to watch the older kids to see what I could learn. They were better at everything. I was far behind. I needed to keep working hard.
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Sometimes we’d drive 10 hours to see a coach. We met Iain Highfield, a sports psychologist, who went to work at Bishops Gate Golf Academy in Florida. He organized a scholarship for me, so I went to the academy at 12 years old and spent a few years getting private coaching. All that professional training helped my game a ton.
When Tiger met Tiger 🤝
A young Robin Tiger Williams meeting Tiger Woods during the 2018 Junior Ryder Cup 🐯pic.twitter.com/pfpSBhoeTV
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) March 1, 2024
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I met Tiger at the 2018 Ryder Cup, when I was representing Europe in the Junior Ryder Cup. One coach yelled, “What’s your middle name?” while I was shaking Tiger’s hand, and I told him. Tiger laughed and said, “No way.” I thanked him for being such an inspiration to me, and he joked that just because I was playing for Europe he hoped I was still cheering for him to go 5-0. I still get goosebumps thinking about it.
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In 2019 I went to Florida State because I knew the assistant coach. Then COVID hit, and since I knew I’d have some mini-tour opportunities, I turned pro. I tried to get a Challenge Tour card but failed. I went back to South Africa to try and play the Sunshine Tour, but I missed getting through Q school by one shot. Every day, I wondered if I’d made a mistake; Did I turn pro too early?
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The Sunshine Tour has two Q schools, the standard Q school and then the Vusi Ngubeni Qualifying School, which is a Q school for nonwhite players. After decades of apartheid, inequality between races is still prevalent in South Africa. The Vusi Q school is less expensive and provides an opportunity for players who might not otherwise be able to afford to play. I played it in 2023 and won.
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What I saw on the Sunshine Tour was shocking. At one tournament, I saw a bunch of players sleeping on the course. I went over, and they told me they had taken a four-day bus trip to get there and had no money for a hotel room, let alone food. They came from humble means, had no sponsors and were missing cuts. It was heartbreaking.
Junior golfer Robin Tiger Williams chatting to Shane Lowry during the pro-am event prior to the British Masters at Woburn Golf Club on Oct. 7, 2015
Ross Kinnaird
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We came up with a way to help these players. I donated almost all my winnings, my dad contributed from his dental practice and my sponsor put money in, too, to help pay for things like yardage books and flights. When I rented a car for a tournament, I’d get a van to take as many guys with me as I could. We wanted these guys to be able to showcase their skills. I saw guys make the cut for the first time. We really made a difference.
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I was Rookie of the Year in the 2023-2024 season to earn DP World Tour status. It’s been my dream to get to the PGA Tour ever since I was 8 years old. I want to be one of the best players in the world, but if I’m not able to impact people’s lives in a positive way, then that success would be worthless to me. I want to inspire the next generation and make golf more accessible to people who don’t have the opportunity to play this sport I love so much.
Interview conducted with Keely Levins
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
