The flirting grew into a serious love, which developed in Africa because his father, a top scientist, worked there on treating malaria. And when, in his high school years, he felt that things were starting to stagnate in Kenya, he packed his things and went to live in Spain on his own – to a golf academy.
Golf ranks as a typical sport of the rich. This is probably why there were no Croats among the professionals until now! But one young man growing up in Kenya is about to change that. In Zagreb, he was caught by: Stipe Antonijević.
The best golfers in the world hit their longest shots on average from 250 to 290 meters. Leo Zurovac sends almost every one of his over 300 meters, and he is only 20 years old.
“Everyone always asks – and I ask myself how it is possible that I can hit the ball 300 meters, and I’m not big and strong and I don’t have any weight. Al would say that I’m fast and somehow I’ve mastered that it can go straight and far.”
This guy, who is expected to soon become the first Croatian professional golfer, has come a long way. And his story is anything but ordinary.
“I went to Africa to play golf – in Kenya, I grew up in Kenya and that’s where the story started. I think for Christmas it was – I got plastic golf clubs, no point in banging them around the house.”
The thumping grew into a serious love, which developed in Africa because his father – a top scientist who worked there on the treatment of malaria. And when he felt that things were starting to stagnate in Kenya during his high school years, he packed his things and went to live in Spain – to a golf academy.
“I got used to living in a boarding school by myself pretty quickly. The only thing I had to learn was how to do laundry and cook, but all in all it went well.”
A golf scholarship took him to the University of Indiana, where he recently became the first Croatian to win a college tournament, and it was Division 1 – which is on par with American college basketball. By the way, golf is a sport in which the goal is to go through all the holes in as few strokes as possible, and how many nuances determine the winner of a tournament – Leo himself will explain it best.
“Some 260-280 strokes, whoever wins will play that many strokes over 4 days and usually, let’s say, from first place to 30th place there can be a 5 stroke difference, which is over 4 days as I said – that’s one stroke a day.”
That’s why mental strength plays a key role, and Leo protects himself from pressure with routine. The same 12 seconds from the moment he stands behind the ball to the moment he hits it really helps in this global sport that is special in many ways.
“Golf can boast the fact that it is the only sport that has ever been played on the moon. It was the work of Alan Shepard – the first American in space, who in 1971 smuggled two golf balls and a club head on the Apollo 14 mission, which he assembled in mid-air, in order to play this sport 385 thousand kilometers above the Earth’s surface – on the moon.”
And this shot, which we recorded with a drone during filming, came just as if from the moon.
“Yes, I certainly surprised myself. To put the ball into the hole from 60-70 meters – that very rarely happens.”
And that’s why this Croatian national team player will sign the papers to become a professional in the middle of next year.
“To play at least at the European level – the DP World Tour to become the first Croatian to ever play, and if God gives me the training and desire to reach the PGA Tour, to the top of the peaks, I would be very happy about that.”
“Go big or go home!” is the motto that, he says, best describes his game, and we can only wish him to reach the heights that are predicted for him.
See the video on the following link: https://dnevnik.hr/video/hrvatska-ce-dobiti-prvog-profi-golfera—63103622
