She might be little but this six-year-old has a big ambition – to become a world champion golfer. Scot Melodie McNeil thinks nothing of competing against kids twice her age and already has a trio of tournament wins.
Her coach Norman Marshall – who coached Tommy Fleetwood when the Ryder Cup golfer was six – said: “Melodie is exceptional. I haven’t seen a six-year-old girl who is better at golf. She is outstanding.”
The coach, who runs the Tommy Fleetwood golfing academy in Southport, Merseyside, added: “Melodie stands out because of her golfing maturity beyond her years and an approach to practice and training, which is very mature.
“Because of the distance I coach Melodie online, bolstered by face-to-face visits.”
Recently, Melodie, from Glasgow, came second playing against 250 other young golfers aged eight and under in the World Junior Championships, held at Nick Faldo’s Lough Erne course in Northern Ireland.
Melodie, who thinks nothing of hitting a 150-yarder along the fairway, said: “As an adult, I would like to win all the golfing majors and compete in the Solheim Cup for team Europe.To be honest, I don’t know what the other older kids think about me when I play against them as I didn’t really notice as I was focusing on my own game.”
Her dad Gordon said: “I got Melodie her first set of clubs when she was two. She began putting and when she put the ball in the hole she expected a treat.
“She played two competitions as a five-year old in the eight and under category and came fourth. I remember walking into the living room in the morning with her breakfast and she would be watching Seve Ballesteros videos on YouTube.
“I remember thinking at the time, ‘I guess Peppa Pig is a thing of the past’.
“When she was five, I sent a video of Melodies’ golf swing to Norman Marshall.
“So far, she has managed three wins in the girls 10 and under category and all within the space of a month.
“The support of Tommy Fleetwood’s Academy has given her the confidence and belief that she can be anything she wants to be. She wants to win the woman’s trophy one day.”
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