Estonia Has 7 Golf Courses, A 5-Month Season And A 20-Year-Old Amateur At The British Open

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland (AP) — No one could call Estonia an ideal breeding ground for golfers. The Baltic nation of 1.3 million people has just seven courses and as few as 3,500 registered golfers. Because of its climate, the golf season can last barely five months. Rising above these obstacles is Richard Teder. That this thin-as-a-rake, 20-year-old amateur with a mullet, spectacles and self-taught English from YouTube is playing at the British Open as the first Estonian to ever compete at a major golf championship is one of the most uplifting stories of this week at Royal Portrush. And he is experiencing pinch-me moments wherever he turns. “Just being in the clubhouse and stuff, seeing Brooks Koepka and all these big, big names,” Teder says. “It’s so cool.” Teder’s improbable path to the Open Championship began at the age of 6 when his aunt won a tennis tournament, earning a somewhat random prize: 10 golf passes. No one in the Teder family was into golf so young Richard, who was just getting into sports at that point, was invited along. Golf soon overtook soccer as his chosen pursuit and his mother decided to go all-in on Richard, taking him to Spain for
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