BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THOUGH not thought of as one of the more popular sports in the Federation, golfers from St. Kitts and Nevis continue to dominate the discipline annually at the regional level.
One such golfer is Raymond Percival who, so far for this year, has won three tournaments including the recently held St. Kitts Open Golf Tournament.
In an interview with SKNVibes, Percival highlighted how successful 2013 has been for him thus far.
“So far I won the Antigua Open in February then I moved on to win the St. Lucia Open in April and the St. Kitts Open just last week. So far the season is going very well; it has been very good to me in terms of results.”
Percival also explained how he goes about preparing for tournaments.
“Most of my golfing career has been self-taught. Looking at the TV, reading books, look at players while I caddy and Mr. Malcolm Callendar used to help me, but I never really had lessons like that.”
“All it takes is discipline and hard practice and just believing in yourself.”
He then explained how he got involved in the sport.
“I was first a caddy at the old Royal St. Christopher Golf Club and then my brother Zeke introduced me to playing the game, and then I fell in love with it and I never turned back from there.”
Percival also explained some of the benefits he gained from playing golf.
“I have met a lot of people playing golf. I have been to some nice hotels because of golf and met some really good golfers.
“They always say golf is a rich man’s sport and it is an expensive sport, but once you have qualified for your national team the burden financially would not be too heavy on you. The club takes care of your travel expenses and they give you a stipend, and you are allowed to get off time from work with pay...so it is not a burden financially.”
He added that being an amateur golfer he does not get paid for playing the sport he loves.
“We play mostly for recognition. Somebody might see you and see your talent and sponsor you. That is what I am hoping for right now and then I’ll move on to some mini tours.”
Percival does dream of making it to the PGA tour someday but stated that he has to qualify for it by winning overseas tournaments.
