SHAH ALAM, Mar 8 — When Rizal Amin sought a caddy to embark on his dream of becoming a professional golfer, he not only found someone to lug the near 20-kilogramme bag around, he also found a confidant.
It came in the form of his younger sister Fatin Amin, 27, a golfer who played collegiate golf in the United States.
She not only loves the game as much as Rizal, but has a cool head on her shoulders, which is something crucial in an individualistic game like golf.
“I love caddying for my brother,” Fatin told Malay Mail when met at the Kota Permai Golf and Country Club where the Bandar Malaysia Open 2020 is being held.
“He understands where I’m coming from and I understand where he’s coming from and I give him a lot of space. I don’t bombard him with advice.
“I’d say, ‘Man, do you want my opinion? Ask. If not do your thing, I don’t want to front you or anything like that. This is your game and it’s you against the course not me. So, he usually asks me for advice on the greens and we’re both cool with it,” she added.
Fatin studied at the University of Tampa, Florida, where she was part of their golf programme.
It was a new programme in a tough collegiate division but Fatin made many close friends with whom she is still in touch till today.
She graduated in 2016 with a degree in journalism and then went to the Professional Golfers Career College to study Professional Golf Management.
It was a 16-month programme, fast tracked to finish in April 2018.
She returned to Malaysia and started caddying for Rizal again.
My brother is now also an alumni of the Professional Golfers Career College." Rizal graduated from the University of La Verne, California, majoring in Sports Science.
“We learnt the game after our dad got us to pick it up. We loved it and we wanted to be good golfers so we put the work in.”
Since caddying for Rizal, Fatin said the furthest they’ve travelled together to play was to Taiwan.
She said that’s where she started to learn about her brother’s proclivities.
“It was in Taiwan where I started to learn more about him. What his likes and dislikes are. It was a humbling experience.
“Since Rizal is a full professional now, I really hope he goes out,” said Fatin alluding to wanting her brother to grind it out on the professional circuit where thousands of golfers are plying their trade hoping to make it into the biggest tours in the world, namely, the Professional Golfers Association or PGA Tour of America or the prestigious European Tour where all the top players play.
“I hope he can venture out and maybe go play on the Asian or Japan Tour and I will be there to support him all the way,” said Fatin.
Rizal may have missed the cut at the Bandar Malaysian Open by finishing 2-Over for the tournament but with Fatin at his side and a good work ethic the sky’s the limit for this brother and sister duo.
