January 2009 : Meilleurs Voeux de bonheur pour cette nouvelle année. Beaucoup de joie et de prospérité, de succès et d'amitié et avant tout une bonne santé pour toutes et tous.
Mon année 2008 a été super passionnante. J'ai vécu pleins de choses incroyables mais je crois que 2009 va être encore plus géniale...
Comme en 2008,Je vais refaire les championnats d'Europe en Écosse fin mai. Puis mi-juillet peut-être la Callaway à San Diego suivi des championnats du monde à Pinehurst. Les championnats de France du Tour Elite Junior en Novembre et pour finir l'année, peut-être la Doral mi-décembre en Floride.

Reprise tranquille de l'entraînement vers le 20 janvier.

December 2008 : J'ai fait une compétition de judo avec mon club : "Le chalenge des petits Samouraïs" et j'ai gagné mes trois combats par ippon. J'aime beaucoup le judo, l'ambiance est complètement différente du golf et j'apprends beaucoup de choses qui vont me servir pour le golf...
J'ai aussi gagné la dernière Kid's cup de l'année, puis la neige est arrivée.
Donc nous avons commencé le ski.
Je suis allé passer une journée aux Etoiles du sports à la Plagne. Une journée magique. Nous avons mangé le midi avec Raphaël Jaquelin et Guy Forget. J'ai ensuite discuté avec Alain Bogossian et plein d'autres sportifs que j'avais vu à la télé notamment pendant les jeux Olympiques. C'était GENIAL, FABULEUX... Je me suis aussi bien amusé avec Romane le fils de Raphël.
J'ai donné un cours de golf à Tony Estanguet et Antoine Dénériaz car nous avons tapé des balles souples dans un gymnase, c'était rigolo. Le soir lors de la remise des récompenses il y avait dans la salle un nombre impressionnant de grands champions comme Stéphane Diagana, Jackson Richardson, Marie-José Perec, Fabien Galtier et plein d'autres que je ne connaissais pas. Bref une journée que je ne suis pas prêt d'oublier.

Comme la neige est là et bien là, j'ai rangé mes clubs au garage pour quelques temps mais ils me manquent déjà.

Passez de bonnes fêtes de fin d'années.

November 2008 : Rien de particulier en cette fin de saison, j'ai gagné une kid's cup dans mon club de Charmeil avec 5 coups d'avance. Depuis 1 mois, je fais du hockey sur glace aux Brûleur de loups. Je m'éclate vraiment.

October 2008 : I played in the Tour Elite Junior Final in Eurodisney on October 26-27. I finished 1st of the 7 years old and 3 rd of the 8 years old. But it was not my day.

I ended close to the holes all day. Sheer bad luck. Even my last putt from 6 metres hit the pole and ended 2 cm (1 inch) from the hole. Another ball was 10 centimetres short and fell in some water. In other words, golf !

The Tour Elite Junior is really my favorite competition in France. Lionel Monce and his crew really give their best for us to have fun whilst playing seriously. We have adapted starts (not from 50 m or from the red starts) and are still allowed to be helped because of our age. They have studied what is done at the World Championships and they have learnt from it !

A huge thank you to them.

This week-end , a TF 1 television crew with Yann Hovine came from Paris to film me......The piece should appear during the 8 o’clock news this Thursday 23rd

Clic on the picture to see the video !!

October 12 2008 !! My first hole in one in competition, age 7 and 45 days  during the county regional championships held in Seyssins. A 123 m Par 3, I played a short 5 Wood. As the course was rolling, we did not see the ball go down. When we got to the green, there was no ball, weird !!

Someone suggested “ it might be in the hole !! ??”

I got closer real slow and......Yesssss, there it was , I was really pleased , my heart was beating so fast that it was hurting...
I’ll remember it for the rest of my life !!!
I did not win a car but I got a gold medal...

Just for the record,my buddy Tiger got his first hole in one he was 8 but he doesn’t say if it was during a competition (source : from Tiger’s wesite “ Did you know” page 3)

September 2008 : I was going to forget !! I did a competition in Bresson ( still unusual for me to play 18 holes) and I shot 89 from the red starts, which means my handicap is now 29

I’ve just spent a magic week-end in Megève at the GREEN VELVET. GREEN VELVET A huge thank you to Fabrice Tarnaud who made it possible for me to do it as well as to Pascal and Martine Philippe. You can see the TV piece here :
I held my first press conference surrounded by 6 French Pros : Jean François Luquin, Jean François Remesy, Jean Batiste Gonnet, Raphaël Jacquelin, Gregory Havret et Marc Antoine Farry.

Can imagine that !!!

I answered to some journalists and I listened carefully to what the pros were saying. Next, there was the gala evening where I had to to put my suit and tie on. Christian Cavaër and Michael Lorenzo Vera arrived and I chatted with them a lot. There was an auction in which the pros sold dedicated golf products in favour of the “Petits Princes association”.

On Saturday morning, there was a Pro-Am and I was able to follow some pros like Michael, Raphael, Jean-Baptiste and I even caddied Bérine Tarnaud. I loved it !!!

In the afternoon, guess !!
I did an approach competition over 2 holes with the 8 French pros. From 100 metres, you had to get as close as possible to the pin. There were a lot of spectators. And they were really really close to us. I hit last and I got my ball about 4 metres from the pin and finished 4 th !! But I won’t tell who I beat.

Later we needed to do a 50 meter bunker approach and here same my ball about 4 meters from the pin and I finished 3rd!!!
How fun!!!
My legs were shaking and my heart was beating 200 km/h.I will remember this for a very long time...After they all came to congratulate me.You should be able to see it on Sport+  mid October.
The overall atmosphere and the organisation of the Green Velvet were really nice.I hope I will be able to go back for a long time and I suggest you go there next year.

You can see some other pictures on my page "Pictures"

Fabrice Tarnaudreally spoiled me when he invited me to the GREEN VELVEThe organises at the Mont D’arbois Golf club in Megève from September 18 to 21. After the gala evening organised in favour of the “Petits Pinces “ Association, I am going to have the utmost privilege to play with the 8 best French players :Michael Lorenzo-Vera, Gregory Havret, Raphaël Jacquelin, Christian Cévaër, Jean-François Lucquin, Jean-Baptiste Gonnet, Jean-François Remesy, Marc-Antoine Farry and I , Small Tom, will be the 9th !!
Can you imagine ?

I am really looking forward to it, we’ll have fun and don’t worry, I will tell you everything....

After a short 15 day break, I restarted training even if we said 1 month without golf but I missed golf too much.

Back to school I am really pleased to see my school friends again.

I also discover karting. It’s really great ! I had fun and I am only 1.752s out of the best lap in the under 30kg categories after only 2 sessions. September and October will be really busy but I will tell you...

August 2008 : 3rd and last day of the tournament.

I’ll start in one of the last games, so I’ll get up at 8.30am, perfect. Shower, breakfast and off to the competition

A short warm-up for approaches, then a bucket at the range, more approaches then putting. It’s already very hot. A cart is taking us to the start.

A short warm-up for approaches, then a bucket at the range, more approaches then putting. It’s already very hot. A cart is taking us to the start

Hole 2 par 3  : I miss my 8 iron shot and the ball goes behind the green.My approach is too short and I take two putts, the second putt is 2 inches from the hole.Ouch!!Back to zero

Hole 3 par 5  : An OK drive,a sliced recovery and the ball finishes in the bunker that defends the green. Nice bunker shot, but a little short. 2 putts.

Hole 4 par 4  : drive slightly to the right. I need a huge Sand approach over a bunker but the flag is just behind. My ball goes 4 meters right. My putt is too hard and I am 2 meters behind but I make it, ouf !

Hole 5 par 4  : My drive goes to the left this time with yet another huge bunker in the way. Good shot but at the far end of the green. A 20 meter putt to make downhill. I misjudge it and I go past it by 6 meters. Bogey, ouch ! Now, I neet to attack and get birdies.

Hole 6 par 5  : My drive is straight but less long than usual. I use my recovery to attack  the flag in 2 but my swing is slow and I end up in the bunker. Never mind, I LOVE bunker shots. Nice shot but too slow again, hence too short.5 meter putt to make uphill. I remember that the greens are fast and I stay 2 meters short !!!! I don’t get it on these greens.
I need to make that putt to stay in contemption but i miss it !

There, I blow a gasket. I can’t win any longer. I’m mad, I have tears in my eyes. I don’t like golf any more. les yeux.

Hole 7 Par 4 on the tee, I’m still unable to calm down. I’m not balanced and ball goes to the right, ending on a path. I get a freed drop but if I do it, there’ll be a huge branch in the way. So my caddy and I decide to go for a 7 iron punched shot. It’s a hard shot but I have a good shot and my ball is on the green. But the competition is lost and I can’t get it out of my head. I have a 15 meter putt to make , I remember the greens are too fast but I stay  way too short. I still want to make my second putt but my ball stops 1 cm from the hole. Another bogey. I have the feeling everyone hates me and I even see a lady laughing at him. I tell my caddy who tells me I’m crazy. He’s trying to reassure me and calm me but me, I wanted to win so much !

Hole number 8 is a very hard Par 3, I think I am not going to make it. My caddy shouts at me a little bit telling it’s not worth playing if it’s what I think.
Eventually my 5 iron shot reaches the green but I’m scared to putt, I remember the greens are fast, i remain 2 meters short, another bogey !

For the 9th hole, I don’t feel like playing any more, I’m drained. I rake my drive, so I need a 5 iron (instead of a pitching wedge for the other players) for the green, which I manage but at the far end of the green. I have a 15 meter putt, 6 meters short, then past the hole by 40cm and guess what, my eyes are full of tears and i can’t see the hole, I miss this short putt finishing with a double bogey and a disastrous card of 42, 6 over !!!!

What a hard experience.

Eventually, I finish 26th , playing 12 over for the 3 days whereas if I had hung in there at the 6thn I could have finished 11th, maybe better.

We can say that I missed my world championships even if I am now ranked 26th in the world.

I could do much better.

What did Tom miss ?

Competition !!

Talking with other American parents, I heard that their kids had already done around 30 competitions since the beginning of the year with adapted starts according to their age category.

It is Tom’s second including the European Championships in Scotland !! I do not include 2 or 3 competitions where they start from 50 or 70 meters, which means a pitching wedge for him.
France is really far behind and it’s not going to improve !!!  Officials clearly consider that golf before 10 does not exist whereas numerous federations take care of kids from 4-5 years old to help them get to the top one day, maybe ! The fact they do not acknowledge the existence of these World Championships or the Callaway Cup in Sand Diego (that Tiger Woods and Lorena Ochoa have won many times) because they’re sponsored, says a lot.
Spiteful gossip will be happy of Tom’s “performance” but I’ll only say that he has gained some more international experience age 6, he’s doing well for his level is closer to 10th maybe 5th in the world. His main drawback is not to be American.» Signed by : The DADDY.

People supporting me will say that my poor performance is a good result because no French had done it before !

But me, I love competing, I love winning and I love golf more than anything and i’m going to keep training again and again and I’ll come back next year with the same will to win !

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Another bad day !!

4 over struggling. My putting is usually a strong point, there nothing !!

There were huge thunderstorms, the greens were soaked and were strangely quite slow, I didn’t get it.

My first round draw made me start at 9.01 am, hence getting up at 6 in the morning. Getting up early is not my thing at all. It took me half an hour to wake and that was after being thrown in the shower.

I was so keen to do well today that the opposite took place. Instead of getting close to the holes like my caddy suggested, I attacked the holes and as often in that case, i was 3 metres past the hole

Hole 1 par 4  : After my friend the starter’s call, I hit a superb drive, 40 or 50 metres longer that my playing partners. A wedge shot to the left though I had a simple 30 metre approach, and I ended 2 metres from the green. Approach to the right, too long and 2 putts. I am starting my day with a bogey. Oops! I’m going to need to attack to make up for it.
Hole 2 par 3 : Nice 8 iron swing, my ball pitches 2 metres from the hole, goes within 2 centimeters but stops 4 metres after. My putt is 5 cm short.
Hole 3 par 5 : Superb drive, then a recovery shot 2 metres short of the green. A pitch approach a bit too long, 5 metres past the flag. My caddy tells me to go for a “given” putt but I really feel like holing. Ouah, this green is fast, my ball ends up on the other side of the hole, about 3.50 m. My second putt is 10 cm short because it is less fast that way. Ouch, another bogey, 2 shots to catch up now.
Hole 4 par 4 : So so drive, long 9 iron. Putting approach 2 meters to the hole. 2 putts for another bogey.
Hole 5 par 4 : Good drive slightly left. I need to get over a big bunker to reach the green, which I achieve with a wedge. My ball is 4 meters behind the pin. Down hill putt with a slope and as I saw the greens were fast earlier on, I putt gently and my ball stops 40 cm from the hole. Damn! A missed birdie chance.
Hole 6 par 5  : My catastrophy hole yesteday. I’m not going to get tricked this time and I can get an eagle here like I did in practice. My drive is decent, nothing more. My second shot, a recovery, goes left a bit and ends up in the rough. I try to hole with my pitch, it hits the hole and stops 4 meters from the hole. I try to make that downhill putt but the ball goes 5 cm off the line. I’m crying out of rage and eating my putter. Only Par ! My caddy tells me that Par is great but I wanted eagle, he doesn’t get it !
Hole 7 par 4  : I ‘m struggling to calm down. So, I have a so so 5 Wood Tee shot, leaving me a 40 m shot over a huge bunker. Super shot but the ball stops 10 m past the pin because of the speed of the green !! As it is fast , I putt gently but too gently and the ball stops 4 m from the hole. My eyes are full of water for the next putt and the ball goes 80 cm past the hole. I hole the following one, another bogey !!
Hole 8 par 3  : The hardest of the course. I am unable to calm down. My caddy asks the other players to play first and tries to reassure me but I am scared to miss that 5 iron shot. Eventually, I am right on the green, I putt for birdie, the ball stops 2 cm  before the hole, unbelievable !!!
Hole 9 par 4 : Going to the start, my caddy speaks to me a lot to reassure me, trying to make me laugh but I can’t. And yet, he IS funny ;-))

One of the other caddies comes to tell me that I am a great player, my game is mature, I have a great swing, he is sure I will become a great player but it’s NOW that I want to be a great player !!

He’s still nice so I place a nice drive, a little bit to the right. A 60 m pitch over a huge bunker, everybody claps so the ball must be close to the pin but, it’s 5 metres behind at least. Right, 2 putts and no birdie for me today whereas I did some on all these holes in practice. I don’t get it in this game. I’m not really sure who called that a “game” by the way because I haven’t had fun today.

So, I am 19th, 3 shots behind 8th , 6 from the podium.

Tomorrow.

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Sleeping has been difficult,waking up too . It has been very hot today ( more than 40°C) with an unpleasant humidity. Storms arrived in the middle of the afternoon, preventing some games from finsihing.

Bad start. I played 2 over.

Not that bad, you may say, yes but I played 31 and 32 (Par 36) in practice rounds. 1 bogey, 1 double for a Par 5 where I usually shoot eagle or birdie. And I have only made one birdie out of the 4 or 5 attempts I had.

Right, I am only 3 shots from 2nd spot.

I played with 2 Texans who shot 48 and 50. Which means the pace was slow, I had to wait for a long time. I teed-off every time at least ;-))

We arrived an hour and a half before my start, small approach warm-up, then half a bucket at the range. It was already very hot. Back to approaches and putting. Then, a cart driven by an old lady took us to the start. A man, that I’m getting to know, called us : “participating to the 9th Under 12 World Championships, representing France, coming from Grenoble, we’re calling Tom Guéant to Tee number one”. It’s always weird, but I saw  at the Evian Masters or at the Canadian Open that they do that for the pros and I find it funny, even if it adds a little bit of pressure.

So, from Tee number one a good drive followed by a well placed pitch gives me a birdie chance. My putts stops 10 cm on the left. Shame, missed one.

Hole 2 par 3, 8 iron shot on the green but quite far from the flag. A badly judged long putt and I take 3 putts. Ouch a bogey. Greens are weird here. They are fast one way but not the other one and even looking at them from close, you can’t tell which way it rolls. They call it “grass” I think. Even fairways are different from ours. It’s almost impossible to get a divot. There are so many roots under the grass that it stops the club head.

Hole 3 par 5. I am on the foregreen in 2 but I completely miss my approach because I wanted to hole it to get an eagle. Then, 2 putts with a 3 or 4 cm one. I wanted an eagle and eventually, I miss a birdie. I should have listened to my caddy.

Hole 4 par 4. La tête dans les nuages, je rate complètement mon drive m'obligeant à jouer un fer 7 (au lieu d'un pitch habituellement) que je mets quand même sur le green. Plus deux putts dont un de 5 cm, encore un birdie de raté.

Hole 5 par 4 : Nice drive followed by a 9 iron approach plus 2 putts. Nothing to say.

Hole 6 par 5 : I like this hole, well usually. I don’t know what I was thinking at the start but I shot my drive into a bunker on the left, only 70 metres away whereas the fairway on the right is wide and downhill.....My 2 partners did the same !!! I wanted to take a 7 iron to cover some distance but my ball hit the lip and stayed in !!!! Catastrophy !!! I used a 9 iron which I got out followed by a 7 iron to the green but far from the pin. Right, on the green in 4 after 2 terrible shots, that’s OK. But as I did not want to get bogey, I attacked my 12 m putt to hole it. As a result, 3 putts and a double bogey !!! i have been training here for 10 days and I hadn’t done one yet and now, here’s one during the competition!!!!

Golf is not fair !!

Hole 7 par 4 : Come on let’s forget the number 6 catastrophy hole. Medium 5 wood, nice sand wedge shot and my ball is 5 metres from the pin with a downhill putt and slopes. I hole it!! At last a birdie that I wasn’t expecting. Ah, that cools me down. I get my smile back. The fans claped.

Hole 8 par 3 : This hole is a horror.The green is high, defended by 2 bunkers, one on the left and one on the right. I take my 5 iron that I hit on the green. Phew!! Two putts  with one less than 4 inches. Really not my birdie day.

Hole 9 par 4 : There is some water on the left. But I’m back on top and I hit a beautiful drive with some draw. A long pitch approach and 2 putts.

This was my first day at the world championship. Tomorrow I need to wake up even earlier, my start is at 9 a.m.

So second day tomorrow.

Jully 2008 : At last I’m at the world championship. Like the ones I did last year in Pinehurst in North Carolina.
This is where the 2005 US Open was played where Michael Campell won...

It’s a place I love, it’s magic.
Pinehurst, it’s 18 holes with the number 2 course that is known in the world.
There are, supposedly, 43 golf courses over 15 miles.
The temperatures are very hot (90-100 °F) but it smells like golf.Here the people are very nice and very welcoming.

Concerning the world championships, there are a bit less than 1300 kids from 30 different countries!!

And guess how many French??

5 !!

Yep, this isn’t a joke. There is another French boy called Jean Lacroix and he’s eleven years old and 3 girls who are 11 and 12 years old.

The Chinese are about 40, a real delegation with the same yellow outfit.

It’s been a good week since I arrived. I’ve played about 10 times on this course that I all ready knew because it’s the same as last year that I played when I was 5 years old. My best scores are 31(-5)/32(-4)/34(-2) on a par 36. It seems shorter than last year. I managed to do a birdie on every hole, now I need to do them in the same round;-)

There are about a hundred kids who are my age. It’s the first time I’m playing with kids my age. Usually I’m the youngest by far. We are 15 “strangers” which makes a majority of Americans. The first day, I will play with 2 of them. My start is at 10:18 a.m.(4:18 p.m.French time) which is perfect for me. Some start at 7 a.m., it’s super early and others at 12:30a.m. when it’s super hot.

I’m eagerly waiting for the start of the competition!!

This evening there was the opening ceremony with a nation parade in the streets of Pinehurst. It looks like the Olympic Games. There were plenty of people.It was a little bit short to my taste, me I would have paraded for one hour. Then there was the announcement, the small American girl singing the American anthem.

A short swim at the hotel ( a moment I love) and then off to bed to be in good shape because in spite of all this, getting up at 7 to be wide awake at the start.

More tomorrow.

Thank you to those who helped me prepare these World Championships as well as possible, that is : my coach Jimmy May, my other coaches Olivier Knumpfer and Frédéric Lecomte, Jean Philippe Boulard (Uriage Golf), Didier Revilliod, Bruno Pardi, Régis et Alexis (Bresson Golf), Vincent Thibault, Evian Training Center, Mom, Dad and especially Renald Quatrehomme.

May 2008 : The competition went well. I have won the 6 year-old section and finished 20th in the 7 year-old section. But the easiest is to read the whole at www.golf-zone.com

That’s good, I ‘ve just done my first day of competition at the US Kids Golf European Championships. A 6 over Par card with a crazy wind..... I am happy and relieved that the competition has started at last !!!

You can follow all my trip in detail on www.golf-zone.com where I have been telling daily my adventure since Saturday. Other pictures and feelings will be on line when I come back....

At the end of May, I will play the European Championships in Scotland, I am so eager to be there. It will be hard because the other guys will still be older and I have never played on links but it will be a great experience.

The surprise I told you about for May 16 has been postponed, I’ll let you know

April 2008 :I have been training a lot this month especially during the holidays when I trained twice a day when it was nice outside. 
I won the first phase of the Departmental Championship where I shot a 68 on 18 holes from shortened tees but I the whole time I couldn't concentrate...
My friend Mickael Lorenzo place 2nd in the the China Open and 6th the week after in Singapore.  He is pure class, and is going to win many tournaments, mark my words...

M6 did a story about me for the magazine 100% mag. There were 3 days of shooting to make the 6 minute clip which I really enjoyed, thank you Jaques and Jean Marc.

March 2008 : On March 15-17 we went to some demonstrations in Paris I was very impressed, it was better the Euro Disneyland! 
It was within 3 minutes of arriving Marc Assous called me to hit some balls with a guy by the name of Dany Boon, I didn't know who he was but a lot of people were looking at us and kept asking to take their photos with him.
I stayed at the convention Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 
Saturday we hit balls for at least 8 hours on a very cool golf simulator, a Golfzon.  We stood on a platform that was slightly raised, it filmed your swing and replays the video right after your shot.  It also gives lots of information about the swing.

M6 was following me all day, after lunch I won a little putting contest with Julien Quense. 
He was really friendly I gave him an autograph when he asked for it.

Who knows maybe next year it will be worth something!

After I trained at the center in Evian, that was also very cool.
The was every golf training gadget under the sun, there was even a box with 4 cameras to analyse the swing.
The people were friendly and helpful too, it was really a nice time.
Too bad we don't live in Evian, but I can still train nearly every day, it's too "fade" (inside joke:))
I can't wait until the competitions start!

February 2008 : The weather has been so nice that I have been training on the course, I have hit less than a bucket balls since the start of the season. I am taking a course at Charmeil with Jimmy during the first week of vacations.

January 2008 : Best wishes to everyone in the new year and a special thank you to everyone who helped me this past year.  2008 will be even more passionate than 2007.  I will play the European championship in Scotland in May, and then in July I may go to Callaway in San Diego followed by the world championships in Pinehurst where this time I have qualified directly. The France tour elite junior Championships in November and to finish the year possibly the Doral in mid – December.  We can't forget the departmental championships same as in 2007.  Full program yes? 

I will take a break then start again in January with some light training.

November 2007 :Coming from a tough month of October, I participated in the final of the French Championships Tour Elite Junior, on the second and third of  November.   I finished third out of the 7-8 year olds (even if I'm only 6). 
It was really a good competition, thank you to the organizors of this great initiative.  I totally enjoyed it and had a great time.   
I shot +4 on nine holes - par 36.
The first place shot plus one, and second shot plus two at 8 years old. 
It was at Marcilly , the people were great, everyone was very friendly. I found the course wasn't that difficult, even when it started pouring and the ground got very wet.  I will definitely go back next year!

October 2007 : I participated in the Second day of the Rhone - Alpes league match final for under 10's at the new course at Valence.  I finished first in the two player final.

I've had a cold virus and missed 15 days of school, and no golf either...

September 2007 : Back to school in CE1 and I'm back with my buddies, it's awesome. My golf school at Charmeil starts again on the 26 th.

August 2007 : The month of August was full of excitement. I entered a match in Bresson where, for the first time I played 18 holes. I shot 109, 36 over par from the red markers. So my handicap is now 43.7 and I haven't even had my 6th birthday! It's funny and it keeps me laughing.. oh if I had played like that in the world championships....

I did it! I played my first World championship! It was at Pinehurst, where the US open was in 2005, and I finished 74th. It was a pretty good result as I was one of the youngest in the competition. I was first amoung the other 5 year olds.

The whole experience was huge and amazing.
I totally appreciate everything that happened that special week,
especially my Caddie ;-}

It was really hot , 35-38 degrees in the shade, They had installed these enormous fans that made a non stop racket. The trip was very long in the car, 18 hours non-stop. When we arrived we were allowed to play practice rounds , I did the course twice completely.

Everyone had been talking to me about the match for a long time, I have gotten alot of encouragement. I would like to thank everyone who has helped me, especially Jimmy, Bruno, Regis, Remi, Alexis, Jean and Jean-Marc...

My Dad told me I was there to learn and I should have fun and enjoy the experience, even so the first day of the competition I was very nervous.
I arrived at practice and there were some other golfers hitting realling well, I wanted to do the same but I wasn't warmed up and I hit poorly... At the first hole the speaker said 'Participant in the 8th World Championships at Pinehurst - Tom Gueant - Grenoble - France'.
Wow was it ever strange .. people applauded, my legs were shaking and my heart was pounding but even so I hit a good drive.
The whole round I was nervous and scared of making mistakes so i didn't play very well and shot a 48!!
The second day I had to get up at 6am. I really wanted to play well and I did pretty well but luck wasn't on my side. My caddie gave the wrong club, a 5 iron instead of a sand wedge and it cost me 4 strokes.. but I forgive him;)
UA rake was left in the middle of a large bunker that stopped my ball 20m short so I couldn't hit the 90m left to get on the green in 2 on a par 5.
The result it took 2 strokes to get out of the bunker and I still had a long way to the hole. This stupid rake cost me 3 strokes! The same day I got 3 pars, and once my ball stopped 1 cm from the hole, it would have been a birdie. I hit one putt way past the hole, my fault that one, anyway I could have hit 34-36 but I only hit 44.
That's golf!

The last day, I got up again a 6am, it was already 30 degrees. I was half asleep and tired for most of the round. I wanted to play well but it didn't happen.
My Caddie said that 5 rounds in 5 days was too much at 5 year old. It was the first time I had ever played so much in a week.

My drives were 30m shorter than usual, and the putting which is usually my strong point was terrible. All my putts were too short, the greens were very slow and I even 5 putted.

My last put I hit way past the whole again... anyway I shot a 49.

I was a little dissapointed because if I had played up to my potential 34 - 40 strokes, I could have finished in the top 10!!!

Next year I will have more experience, one year more of training, be 10 centimeters taller, stronger, and also have a better Caddie ;-).

I will be in the same category so I hope I can win it!!

So when it was over I was not that dissapointed, I learned tons of stuff that will help me get better, and one other thing, I learned I love competition... .

Another big thank you to those who helped me: Jimmy May, Bruno Pardi, my godfather Serge, my cousin Leo, and especially my 'tonton' Jonathan Ruben and my 'tata' Christelle not to forget Talia because without them this adventure could not have happened.

July 2007 : I was in Canada and the United States for a month and a half. It was really cool. I qualified for the final of the 10 years and under World Championships by shooting 35, one under par. I will be playing for three days at Pinehurst where the Us open was held in 2005.
It's going to be great fun, I will be one of the youngest players.
There will be 1000 + kids from 33 countries but none speak French, it might be hard to play with them as I only speak English a little.

I had to play 2 competitions in Canada but I was sick so I couldn't play, but I still practiced at different courses and driving ranges. One range was neat, they had many levels to hit your ball from and a car parked on the range for target practice. I even practiced in a giant golf bubble.

I went to see the Canadian Open. There were Furyk, Wier, Singh, and Chris Dimarco signed and gave me his golf glove. I found it was very big for my hand. Mike Wier gave me a high 5 going to the 16th hole. He is not a great player but is really nice. It was a great day.

- I went to gym sessions and trained with a coach at SHAPE (www.shapetoronto.com) it was fun you can see it in the video.

June 2007 : I'm continuing to train. School is finished, long live vacations! I can play more golf now...

April 2007 : It's easter vacations, ready for a different 9 holes each day with my friends.

Channel M6 came to do a story on me, it aired April 5th.

May 2007 : I attended a golf class with Jean-Marc Ausseil in Uriage and I keep practicing. I got my first handicap: 52.5 and I didn't play very well that day, I need to lower it fast! I hope to anyway. So I achieved one of my goals for January... only one more remains.
I played in an adult competition, the Thomas Cook in Uriage. From the reds, I shot 54 on Saturday and 50 on Sunday under a steady rain. The people who I played with were very nice even though they thought it was strange to be playing against a 5 year old. I played against 2 women on Sunday and a total 12 adults in the final.

March 2007 : After being filmed by France3 Grenoble, I did a small demonstration in the hockey arena in front of 3500 people. I was really pleased, it was fun and the 'Bruleurs de Loups' won!
Golf school is finally back! I was very happy to see my friends Arthur, Cyriac, Antonin, Valentin, Mathis, Matheo and Camille.

I am continuing to hit balls in the arena, the last time I hit really made me happy, the Bruleurs de loup won the final, it was incredible! !!

February 2007 : I train at least 30 minutes each day, and one hour and a half on wednesdays and saturdays.
I did a practice session with Jimmy at Charmeil during the second week of holidays.

January 2007 : Happy new year! Because its really nice out we can still practice out on the course and also in room my Dad cleared out for me. I like to ski two days of the week but since there is no snow we keep golfing.
My new year's resolutions:
- I would like to get handicapped in the spring
- I want to go to the US this summer to qualify for the 10 and under World Championships - Always have fun playing golf

December 2006 : It is still nice out so we are on the course, even if there is a little snow!

November 2006 : Attended a session for golf strategy at the Bievre course organised by Jean Marc Aussiel Inter regional final at Nimes where I went to my first clinic.

October 2006 : I shot a 48 over 9 holes from the reds at Uriage!

September 2006 : Back to school going into CP and the Charmeil golf school re-opens.

July 2006 : Evian Master visited

Deux messieurs commencent une partie. Mais l'un des deux est bègue. Au 1, le premier réussit une superbe approche et la balle s'arrête à 10 cm du trou. L'autre dit "do...do... do...". Le premier ramasse alors sa balle, ravi et l'autre termine sa phrase : "Do...mmage !"