DM168 SPORT: JC Ritchie: ‘All those dreams as a youngster are what keep driving me’

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Shutting out the voices of doubt, Juan Carlo Ritchie had his eye on one prize: to be the best professional golfer he can be.

This is a lesson. It’s a lesson in chasing your dream. It’s a lesson that the dream is the easy part. How badly you want it, though, that’s where it gets much harder.

“When I was younger I always felt like there were a lot of critics. People who said it was a silly dream and it wouldn’t work out. I was a decent junior golfer, but I was nothing but an average amateur. I didn’t get picked for any big amateur teams. I didn’t really achieve anything in amateur golf. “I also loved playing cricket. I just couldn’t bat because my eyesight was pretty bad. I only realised that halfway through high school. I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t see the cricket ball, and then I got contact lenses… I was a brilliant bowler, though.

“But then he had to move down to Richards Bay for work, and I didn’t have a place to stay. I went back to Pretoria and spent matric and the year after matric living with my golf coach, Graeme Francis. “I see a lot of brilliant young amateurs turn pro and come out on the Sunshine Tour and struggle. I think there is a lot of pressure on them. They try to force it and make everything happen too quickly.

“Somehow, something happened in lockdown and I just lost my game. Last year was a big struggle and a big learning curve for me. I’m just happy I’ve worked through that and that my game now is close to where it needs to be again.”“I was going to play a full season on the Challenge Tour last year but Covid-19 had other ideas.

 

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