Perth golfer Scottish hope at world championships

Aug 10 2010 by Denis Brown, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

PERTH’S Steven Cafferty will be a driving force at the eighth World Deaf Golf Championships.

The 20-year-old, who has a three handicap and recently won the Scottish Deaf championship title as well as the Craigie Hill men's open, tees off at the prestigious Fairmont St Andrews event today.

Deaf after contracting meningitis at age one, he is among a competitive field of 114 male and female golfers representing 15 countries vying for individual, team and senior honours at the four-day event.

Scotland is hosting the biennial event for the first time, and along with teams from the likes of Australia, Japan, South Africa, Ireland and Sweden, hopes to clinch the men’s team title from 2008 winners, the USA.

Fairmont general manager Charles Head said there was a vibrant and healthy interest in Scotland for both deaf and hard of hearing golfers.

“We are delighted that the world championships are finally being held at the home of golf,” he said.

Mr Cafferty, an expert lip-reader who works as a sales assistant at Nevada Bob’s in Perth, said he and his peers aimed to prove that regardless of hearing abilities they can win a world title.

“Our team consists of two new faces – Edinburgh’s David Ewan, who has a one handicap, and myself – and we are both determined to provide an extra something to an already talented team,” he said.

“Golf has been my life since I was a kid, with my dad taking me out on the course at Craigie Hill up to four times a week.

“I got down to single figures when I was 17 and got a job at Noah's Ark Golf Centre, where I applied for the PGA’s three-year study course, becoming the first deaf golfer to be accepted for the organisation.

“I hope to turn professional in the next year.”

Steven’s mother, Susan Baird, said she was very proud of her son, who did not have an easy time of it at school but had gone on to find acceptance and success in the highly competitive world of golf.

“All his talk of bogies and eagles tends to go right over my head but golf has really been a fantastic thing for him and we’re all hoping he does well for Scotland at St Andrews this week,” she said.