By Joy Chakravarty
Freshly-minted Hero World Challenge champion Viktor Hovland has given a glowing appraisal of Dubai-based amateur Rayhan Thomas.

The 24-year-old Hovland is an Oklahoma State University alumnus and remains a regular at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, the home base of the OSU Cowboys, even two years after turning pro. The Norwegian, who climbed to world No.7 following his win in the Bahamas, also has his residence there.

Thomas, who became the first amateur to win on the MENA Tour (2016 Dubai Creek Open) and was tied second at the 2018 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, joined OSU in 2019. But he struggled with his swing for more than a year and spent most of his time in the driving range and sidelines watching his teammates continue to add to the legacy of such stars as Hovland and Matthew Wolff.

RELATED: Dubai prodigy Rayhan Thomas reveals ‘mental and physical’ toll of his return from rock bottom

In his quest to get back his swing, the 21-year-old decided not to come home to Dubai in the summer of 2021, playing tournaments and putting in the reps in the US. He played several rounds with Hovland over the period, feeding on the experience of the three-time PGA Tour champion, and forging a strong bond with the Norwegian.

The move is now paying dividends as Thomas has had several encouraging outings in the past couple of months. He played a key role in OSU finishing second at the season-ending East Lake Cup and was second in his last individual event – the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate. Having dropped down close to 2,000th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, his recent form has helped him climb to No. 951.

Thomas believes his best in college golf is yet to come, and from what he has seen, Hovland has complete faith in the Indian.

Photo by Joy Chakravarty.

“I think he is having a good year, and I think he has a really good future,” said Hovland speaking exclusively to Golf Digest Middle East during the Hero World Challenge in Bahamas.

“He is such a fun guy to be around and he has got a very good head on his shoulders. He is still very young, but speaks very eloquently and thinks about everything that he does. He goes about his business with purpose, and he is pretty smart.

“You know, he struggled a little bit early in his first year in college, but it was really nice to see him kind of get into a rhythm and start playing well at the end of this year.

“I think he is pretty motivated too. He keeps working hard and I see no reason why he should not have a great year.”

Having spent his years with coach Alan Bratton and his team at one of the most successful college golf programmes, Hovland says he completely understands what Thomas has gone through in the first couple of years.

“He is not the only player at Oklahoma State to have struggled. Karsten Creek is a tough place. It is one of the most prestigious golf programmes in the State. There are a lot of things that put pressure on you. When you are part of such a team, you just want to play well so badly. And there are times when it just doesn’t work out. We have had a lot of success, but unfortunately, we also have a lot of experience of players struggling as well,” explained Hovland.

“But then again, our struggles help us kind of know more about ourselves. It’s all about the team telling him the right things and making him comfortable, making him relaxed. He is very well-liked by Coach Bratton and he is working on good things, and eventually, his game is gonna turn around.”

Thomas had earlier told Golf Digest Middle East that Hovland had become a mentor for him and he seeks a lot of advice from the PGA Tour star.

“Yeah…that’s one thing I like about him. He keeps asking questions. We speak a lot, but it’s not like just golf stuff. Swing advice is probably not the best advice I can give, but it’s things like asking about how life on tour is, how do you think mentally in a certain situation. The small things. He seems like he listens and asks more questions. And that’s good,” said Hovland.

Thomas is back in Duba for his winter break.

The post Viktor Hovland backs fellow OSU Cowboy Rayhan Thomas to have ‘great year’ in 2022 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The Indian amateur is conspicuous by his absence in the line-up for next month’s 12th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at his home Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club after falling outside the top 1000 of the World Amateur Golf Rankings. It was an event he very nearly won in 2018 which would have secured a dream invite to the Masters and Open Championship.

It has been quite the plummet since for Thomas who became the first amateur winner on the Pro-Am MENA Tour in 2016 before defending the title at his home Dubai Creek course the following year amid an explosion of global media interest. That courtesy of a second-round 61 where he tied Mark Calcavecchia’s world record by making nine straight birdies.

Incredibly though, the swing yips that have taken Thomas to rock bottom had already emerged. He started 2019 with two European Tour starts including an opening 67 at the Saudi International to sit inside the top 10.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – OCTOBER 30: Rayhan Thomas reacts after missing a putt during Day 3 of the 2019 East Lake Cup at East Lake Golf Club on October 30, 2019, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)

“And then I just blew up,” Thomas, who followed with a 77 to miss the cut, told Golf Channel.

In his first two seasons in college golf for the Oklahoma State University Cowboys, Thomas qualified for just four events – all came during his freshman season – and faded from the limelight.

“It affected pretty much every part of my game,” Thomas said. “It took a toll on me physically and mentally. … It definitely did cross my mind, maybe taking a break, but deep down I know I love this sport. It’s what keeps me happy.”

Unable to return to Dubai due to the COVID-19 outbreak, about all Thomas could do was dig a solution out of the range dirt.

Now in his junior year at OSU, things are looking up. As Golf Channel report, Thomas has yet to finish outside the top 20 in his five starts as a junior. He’s qualified for two starting lineups, including for this week’s East Lake Cup, where he tied for eighth in stroke play and halved his match against Arizona State’s highly regarded Cameron Sisk. In his individual tournaments, he has two more top-10s, most notably a runner-up showing at the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate.

OSU coach Alan Bratton is full of praise for the fight shown by the serial Emirates Golf Federation winner and MENA Tour trailblazer.

“Golf’s a hard game, and you’re usually not as bad as you think you are, and good golf is not usually as far away as sometimes it can feel … but it happens all the time, even to the best players in the world,” Bratton said.

“But Ray did all the work. He’s such a great kid, and through his struggles he’s kept a great attitude and worked really hard. He came to the course with a smile on his face, trying to just work to keep getting better, and he’s played well this semester.”

Our man @RayhanThomas is showing that the turnaround in his form is for real.

A week after finishing 2nd at Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate, he qualified for the @eastlakecup and is traveling with @OSUCowboyGolf teammates in style. #GolfSchool pic.twitter.com/pDVLKWBJE8

— Joy Chakravarty (@TheJoyofGolf) October 24, 2021

The best bit is Thomas knows he’s nowhere near his best yet.

“I don’t think I’m anywhere close which is a good thing because I know I can get a hell of a lot better.”

Getty Images

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By Kent Gray
All going well, Rayhan Thomas will skip the opening day at golf’s ultimate finishing school. We’re not sure playing hooky on your first day as a freshman is the best way to impress the academic faculty at Oklahoma State University but suspect Cowboys men’s golf team head coach Alan Bratton won’t mind a jot.

August 19 is the beginning of the next step in Thomas’ thus far thoroughly impressive ascent to the sharp end of the professional game, the start of a four-year immersion in a celebrated collegiate program that has produced professionals the calibre of Rickie Fowler. August 19 is also the final day of the 119th U.S. Amateur Championship at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club. Reaching the 36-hole final in North Carolina is a long shot (Ed’s note: Thomas sadly opened with a 10-over-par 80) but be it fabled Pinehurst No.2 or famed OSU, Thomas can’t lose either way.

RELATED: Wu opens 119th U.S. Amateur with 65; Tough start for Thomas

A reconnaissance mission to Stillwater, Oklahoma earlier this year certainly has the MENA Tour trailblazer fizzing for his next chapter, one that already includes two professional titles and a runner-up finish in last year’s Asia Pacific Amateur Championship.

“The trip when I went over to OSU was just fantastic,” the 19-year-old Dubai-based Indian recalls. “I spent two days there. The coach picked me up and took me straight to the golf club, checked that out. A fantastic facility, met the whole [golf club] team, I mean they’ve got some set-up there – no wonder they’ve been the best team in college golf for such a long time.”

The club of which Thomas speaks in such glowing terms is Karsten Creek. If the name is familiar, that’s because the Tom Fazio design was named after the late Karsten Solheim, founder of Karsten Manufacturing, or as it is more commonly known PING.

The brainchild of former OSU golf coach and current OSU Athletic Director Mike Holder, Karsten Creek opened in 1994 and has been home to the OSU golf program for the past 20 years. With its slick greens and a layout rated among the toughest in the United States, it’s a perfect place for Thomas to hone his game. So too is the program Bratton oversees; when OSU won it’s 11th NCAA Division 1 men’s title in 2018, Bratton became the first Cowboy to win collegiate golf’s top title as a player, assistant coach and then coach.

Karsten Creek G.C. has helped the OSU Cowboys become the country’s dominant NCAA Division 1 team

OSU was ousted in the semifinals by the Texas Longhorns in the most recent NCAA Div 1 Championship held in Arkansas in May. Thomas has been drafted in to help get the Cowboys back to where they belong (only the University of Houston with 16 has more NCAA golf titles) but making the five-man roster won’t be a cinch, even for a player ranked 14th in the latest World Amateur Golf Ranking. Quality and Oklahoma State go hand in golf glove; aside from PGA Tour fan-favourite Fowler, OSU’s alumni include Charles Howell III, Bob and Kevin Tway, Peter Uihlein, Hunter Mayhan, Bo Van Pelt, Scott Verplank, Morgan Hoffmann, Alex Noren and 1998 Open Championship runner-up Brian Watts. More recently, Viktor Hovland won the 2018 U.S. Amateur and finished low amateur in this year’s U.S. Open while Matthew Wolff kicked on from winning the NCAA individual crown by clinching his first PGA Tour title at last month’s 3M Open. The win was historic with Wolff becoming just the third player after Ben Crenshaw and Tiger Woods to win the NCAA title and a PGA Tour title in the same year.

“The system in OSU is that you’ve got to qualify for the team. There are stable spots for the No.1 and No.2 players but initially I’m going to have to work my way onto that team, prove that I deserve that top 5 spots [first] and [then] prove I deserve one of those stable spots,” Thomas said. “There are so many good players it’s going to be a grind just to get onto the team.”

Luckily the MENA Tour has taught Thomas the art of the grind, not to mention a bit of artistry as well. A year after becoming the first amateur winner on tour at his home Dubai Creek Open in 2016, Thomas famously equalled the world record for successive birdies – all nine of them – en-route to a course record-tying 61 and a runner-up finish.

“The Mena Tour has been huge to getting me to this point,” he said. “It’s meant a lot to me and is the reason I am where I am today with the amount of ranking [AWGR points] and opportunities to play in some big European [Tour] tournaments. I can’t thank the MENA Tour enough for allowing me to be part of their journey and them being part of my journey.

“I can’t wait to see what the MENA has in store for us all in the next few years and I can’t wait to see what the golfing world has in store for me.”

Tournament Director Wayne Johnson was playing the mutual appreciation game as the MENA Tour prepared to bid Thomas a fond farewell.

“We are certainly very proud of Rayhan’s accomplishments and wish him the very best on his journey through the collegiate golf program and tournaments in the USA,” said Johnson.

“There is no substitute for hard work and I know Rayhan has worked extremely hard on his game with some expert tuition and guidance from the team at the Butch Harmon School of Golf [now Claude Harmon 3 Performance Golf Academy Dubai at The Els Club].

“I also believe the MENA Tour events Rayhan played in have helped form part of his successful growth and enhanced his performance by competing against more accomplished and experienced players on a regular basis.

“He has an immense passion for the game balanced with a wonderful temperament which will only stand to serve him well as he embarks on his new adventure to Oklahoma State University, one of the finest colleges in the USA with an unrivalled golf program which has helped nurture and develop some of the biggest  stars of the game.”

Here’s hoping Thomas becomes another of those famous Cowboy graduates – even if he does miss the first day of school.

The post Rayhan Thomas is about to take his golf education to the next level appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Dubai golf prodigy Rayhan Thomas has sensationally won his second professional title as an amateur, turning the tables on South African rival Mathiam Keyser at the 11th King Hamad Trophy in Bahrain.

The Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club-attached Indian, who turned 19 earlier this week, fired a closing four-under 68 at the Royal Golf Club on Saturday to finish the 54-hole event on -17, five shots clear of Keyser.

After rounds of 66 and 65, Thomas came from a shot back overnight with the help of an eagle on the par-5 9th as 36-hole leader Keyser stumbled home with a 74. Englishman Josh White finished third, a further shot adrift on -11.

The victory enabled Thomas to extract a measure of revenge over Keyser who edged him by two shots in his defence of the 2017 Dubai Creek Open, the MENA Tour title he famously captured in September 2016 aged just 16.

Thomas, who is coached by U.S.-bound Dubai coach to the stars Justin Parsons, mightn’t have defended at the Creek but he did create global headlines by rattling off a world record equalling nine successive birdies in an opening round of 61, a course record tying round on his home course.

Related: Watch Rayhan Thomas seal world record equalling MENA Tour round at 2017 Dubai Creek Open

Thomas, who finished runner-up at the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship in Singapore last month, will follow in the footsteps of PGA Tour star Rickie Fowler when he plays collegiate golf for the Oklahoma State University Cowboys next year.

Related: Thomas eyes the 148th Open Championship at Royal Portrush after sensational run to joint second at Asia-Pacific Amateur

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By Ryan Herrington
There is little doubt who’ll have the biggest cheering section on Tuesday at Karsten Creek Golf Club. As expected, host Oklahoma State easily qualified for the matchplay portion of the NCAA Championship, posting the low 72-hole score (even-par 1,142) in stroke play, much to the satisfaction of the hometown fans in Stillwater.

There’s also no doubt who’ll have the most pressure on them as well. The Cowboys have won nine team titles during the 2017-’18 season, each increasing the anticipation for what might be as the team plays for the national championship on its home course. Given their familiarity with the Tom Fazio layout, as well as the talent on the squad—Matthew Wolff and Viktor Hovland are in the running for first-team All-American honors while Austin Eckroat, Kristoffer Ventura and Zach Bauchou have all also had standout seasons—anything less than a 11th NCAA team title potentially will feel like a letdown.

Still, OSU’s road to the title won’t be easy. As their “reward” for earning the No. 1 seed, the Cowboys face the second-ranked team in the country, Texas A&M, after the Aggies just snuck through to grab the eighth and final seed.

“We’ve played with them quite a few times,” said Oklahoma State men’s coach Alan Bratton. “Obviously, I’m familiar with the university. I’m from College Station. That will be a good match-up. They’ve had a good year, and we’ll need to be on our game, but I promise you we’ll be ready.”

Meanwhile, if Oklahoma State manages to advance to Tuesday afternoon’s semifinals, it could set up arguably the most anticipated head-to-head showdown since the NCAA Championship went to match play to decide the team title in 2009. The Cowboys could play in-state rival and defending NCAA champion Oklahoma. The Sooners earned the No. 4 seed in the match-play bracket and first face off with SEC champion Auburn in the semifinals.

In the other quarterfinal match-ups for Tuesday morning in Stillwater, No. 2 seed Duke plays No. 7 seed Texas and No. 3 seed Texas Tech plays No. 6 seed Alabama.

While playing a road game by being at Karsten Creek, Oklahoma men’s coach Ryan Hybl knows he’ll also have plenty of fans traveling from Norman and providing support. Hybl acknowledged, too, that there is a little bit of relief to have gotten to this stage of the championship, given expectations for his own squad to back-up their title from a year ago.

“I’ve gotten that question a lot this week about the pressure of defending. That was a year ago. …The pressure honestly is not on us. We’re not favored here this week, and we kind of like that.”

Here’s are the pairings for all the quarterfinal matches (all times are CDT):

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By Kent Gray
Range work. Revision. Repeat. The next month will feel like Groundhog Day for Rayhan Thomas but the Indian teen is happily in the zone, making the most of a rare gap in the calendar to prep for his next big school and amateur golf examinations.

Thomas is counting down to the 10th Sir Michael Bonallack Trophy in Qatar next month so if he’s not catching up on his studies ahead of a critical Year 11 exam later this month, he’s working on “tidying up” his game in readiness to represent Asia-Pacific in the biennial Ryder Cup-style matches against Europe.

The 18-year-old MENA Tour product wasn’t happy to miss the cut at last month’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic, rounds of 73-77 leaving former Open champion Darren Clarke the only player (albeit a major champ) between Thomas and the foot of the 132-player leaderboard.

A holiday visiting family back in Kerala over Christmas/New Years was wonderful and so too is hindsight. With the beauty of some of the latter, Thomas knows he wasn’t ready for the historically low scoring during the Desert Classic.

Related: Practice round with Rory at Desert Classic was “off the wall”

“I didn’t have enough preparation time before the Desert Classic but there’s no excuses, I should have been ready,” said the Dubai Creek member, speaking with a self-awareness that belies his tender years.  “I wasn’t happy with my ball striking or my touch and feel around the greens, the whole lot.”

If he doesn’t have his nose in text books, you’ll find Thomas on the range, often under the watchful guidance of Butch Harmon School of Golf Dubai Director of Instruction Justin Parsons, determinedly putting things right.

“I’ve always had a pretty shut [club]face at the top and been a bit across the line which is okay if my timing is on, but when it’s not, my misses a wide,” the world No.18 said. “So I’m working on trying to get a little bit more out in front and hopefully my misses will be a lot smaller.”

Europe leads the Bonallack Trophy 7-2 ahead of the 10th matches at Doha Golf Club from March 8-10. Selection is another huge accomplishment for Thomas given the competition’s alumnae, major champions Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Danny Willett and Geoff Ogilvy among the big names. World No.2 Jon Rahm and Ryder Cuppers Chris Wood and Nicolas Colsaerts are other former European reps while Thomas will follow decorated countryman Shiv Kapur and Japan’s world No.6 Hideki Matsuyama in representing Asia-Pacific.

Rory McIlroy, Joost Luiten, Oliver Fisher and Richie Ramsay helped Europe to a 18-14 win at the 2006 Sir Michael Bonallack Trophy at Auckland G.C. in New Zealand. Sandra Mu/Getty Images

After the Bonallack Trophy, Thomas will return to the Sage Valley Junior Invitational near Augusta in April and is also eyeing another tilt at The [British] Amateur Championship at Royal Aberdeen and Murcar Links in June. He missed the cut last year – and thus the matchplay stages of the 122nd Amateur at Prince’s and Royal St George’s – by a solitary stroke.

Thomas has his final Year 11 exam in between the U.S. and Scotland and needs to keep up his grade averages over the next year ahead of joining Oklahoma State University, one of the most decorated schools in collegiate golf who count Rickie Fowler among their former stars.

Related: Ray’s a Cowboy and Rickie Fowler’s delighted!

Thomas might have a full year of correspondence school left before his U.S. odyssey but it doesn’t stop him talking like a proud Cowboy already.

“Oklahoma just won a big event in Hawaii, it was by 12 or 14 strokes we won by and it was a big event. We’ve got a fantastic roster and a great coach as well. I can’t wait.”

The post Thomas grinds ahead of prestigious Sir Michael Bonallack Trophy appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 18-year-old Indian took to social media on Sunday to confirm his long held ambition to play collegiate golf in the U.S. And what a team he’s been courted by and verbally committed too.

Extremely excited to verbally commit to Oklahoma State !! ? #gopokes #silverback ?

A post shared by Rayhan Thomas (@ray_jthomas) on Dec 16, 2017 at 10:18am PST

Oklahoma State University is among the most decorated schools in U.S golf with 10 national championships and one of the most dominant forces in the modern era thanks to names such as world No.7 Fowler who responded to Thomas’ Instagram announcement:.

“@ray_jthomas congrats bud and look forward to seeing you in Stilly!”

The OSU Cowboys won the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Golf Championship in May. Among its other famed alumni are Charles Howell III, Bob and Kevin Away, Peter Uihlein, Hunter Mayhan, Bo Van Pelt, Scott Verplank, Morgan Hoffmann, Alex Noren and Brian Watts who was runner-up in the 1998 Open Championship. Verplank (1986), Watts (1987) and Howell (2000) won individual national titles as Cowboys.

Thomas, the world amateur No.22 who qualified No.1 for the International team for the Junior Presidents Cup earlier this year, isn’t expected to line-up for the Cowboys until 2019.

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