16-year-old Bailey Leafe from Old Toongabbie is swinging for success as he excels through Cumberland Country Golf Club.
Bailey can now breathe a sigh of relief claiming glory through the doubters who told him that he can’t lose and play bad. “I won the junior championship at Cumberland and Pennant Hills, Cumberland junior match play and also won 2 and drawn 1 of my 4 games of Men’s major pennants”. The 13-shot victory made him realise that he has what it takes to become an elite golfer and conquer his head noise. “Leading up to golf events I had people in my ear telling me that I couldn't lose and that I couldn't play badly. This gave me head noise, but I kept doing what I usually do and practiced those pressure moments and fortunately it paid off” he said.
Bailey fell into golf through his father Grant, who played every Saturday, leading him to take part in the gentleman's game. At first Bailey was hesitant to play as his mates questioned him why he was pursuing an ‘old man's sport.’ However, he put the doubters to the side and he saw successful results on the green. This led to his mates taking genuine interest in his game, to which Bailey wanted to keep playing golf as his love and passion grew.
Bailey is a proud Western Sydney boy and believes the golf courses in his local area are excellent and can match any other course in Sydney. Bailey’s favourite courses in the west are Cumberland and Castle Hill golf club. Another golfer who enjoys playing out west is Andrew Daddo. Andrew, who resides in Manly, is taken back by Western Sydney's golf quality. Speaking in the Australian Golf Digest column, “I’m reluctant to say it’s innate snobbery because I’m originally from Melbourne, but I was really surprised by the quality of golf in Western Sydney.”
Andrew implies “That’s what I like about playing golf in the west – the people.”
Looking ahead for Bailey he aims to go back-to-back in winning the junior championship at Cumberland. “I’ll keep practicing hard with a good mentality then there is a possibility that I can do it again and move on to a bigger stage”.
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