SAN DIEGO – Life has been a dizzying whirlwind for Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas since his astonishing breakthrough on the US PGA Tour but his overriding goal remains in sharp focus. The 26-year-old became the first rookie to win the Bob Hope Classic in more than a half-century with a playoff victory on Sunday, an achievement that sparked jubilant celebration in his soccer-mad homeland.
Although Venezuela President Hugo Chavez has frequently disparaged golf as an elitist sport played on land that would be better used to build houses for the poor, Vegas is eager to prove that golf can be accessible for all. “That’s really what I want to accomplish in life, to bring the game to everyone in Venezuela so everyone has the opportunity to succeed like I did,” Vegas told Reuters at Torrey Pines on Wednesday.
“We all know it’s a sport where everyone has a good opportunity, or the same opportunity, to practise and play and hopefully Venezuelans will start looking at golf that way.” Chavez put aside his mockery of golf as a “bourgeois” sport in a TV address on Tuesday to congratulate Vegas for winning a PGA title in only his fifth start on the U.S. circuit. Vegas, whose beefy build has helped him become one of the longest hitters on the PGA Tour, said his targets for this year had been radically altered by his breakthrough victory.
“It has changed my goals a lot, it’s changed pretty much everything in life for me right now,” he said with his proud father Carlos, who introduced him to the game, looking on. “Hopefully I can finish the year top 30 in the world which would be a huge step. That would give me a great opportunity to play pretty much everything for the following year.
“So I am going to play hard, keep working hard and try to accomplish that.” Vegas, who rocketed 101 places to 86th in the rankings after winning the Bob Hope Classic, said he had embraced his position as the first and only PGA Tour player from Venezuela. “I feel like I am an ambassador for my country but with that comes a lot of responsibility and commitment,” he said.
“You have to be a role model pretty much but it’s a role that I am willing to do. I love the position. The support that I have had from my country has been unbelievable.” Born in Venezuela’s eastern city of Maturin, Vegas began playing golf at the age of two before moving to the United States in 2002 and turning professional six years later.
