A young golfer who first took to the sport after watching Rory McIlroy on the fairways of Dubai is hoping to prove he belongs when he plays in his first DP World Tour event this week.
Zubair Firdaus qualified for the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship after winning the amateur tournament at the same course in Riffa in October.
Entry into the second tournament on the tour’s Desert Swing is the prize for winning the Bahrain Amateur Open. The only stipulation is the player must maintain that status to play.
Firdaus, 23, is intent on turning professional straight after, and is targeting playing on the Mena and Asian Tours – although his first taste of the DP World Tour has whetted his appetite to stay.
On one hand, the Malaysian could not feel more comfortable this week. Even though he has spent much of the recent past studying in the United States, his family have lived in Bahrain for the past four years, and the Royal Golf Club in particular feels like home.
“I sleep here sometimes,” Firdaus said. “I come here in the morning and I play 18 holes, sometimes maybe 27.
“That's pretty much my routine when I was here in summer break and winter break during school holidays. That's all I did. Because Bahrain is very quiet, most of my time is spent with family and golf.”
And yet the scene at his home club is very different this week. Not least because he has been vying for room on the range and the putting green with some of the stars of the tour, like Patrick Reed, Padraig Harrington and Andy Sullivan.
Ultimately, this is the sort of company Firdaus hopes to be keeping every week, as a full-time pro himself.
“I've graduated already, so all my education is taken care of and I feel like my game is in a good spot where I can transition from am to pro,” Firdaus said.
“I've played all the elite amateur events around the world, so I feel like I'm pretty prepped and I think it's a great tournament for me to play as my last [amateur event].
“Now that I'm here, it feels like I want to be on the DP World Tour. Hopefully, if I have a great week, you never know what can happen. But I just want to have as much experience in this event as possible, and then we'll go from there.”
Firdaus represents Malaysia, went to senior school in Australia, and attended San Jose University in the United States. But it was in Dubai where he took his formative steps in golf.
The family moved to the UAE with his father’s job as a property valuations manager when Firdaus was six years old, and he lived there until he was 14.
One of his earliest memories of life in the city was his dad taking him to watch the finale to the Race to Dubai at Jumeirah Golf Estates. He got to see McIlroy in the flesh, and he was immediately hooked.
“Everyone loves Rory in Dubai,” Firdaus said. “I just remember watching him on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates, and I was really inspired, so I really wanted to do that, and still to this day, I'm a huge Rory fan.”
After that initial spark, he was enrolled at Sharjah Golf and Shooting Club, before moving to JGE. He also practiced at the Els Club and the Trump International.
“When I got my college offers, then I started thinking I really have a chance,” he said of his progress in the sport.
“If Division I schools are looking at me, then I feel like I'm gaining momentum. I learnt so much in the States, having spent four years there. I improved so much of my game and my mentality, so now I feel like I'm ready.
“Now that I'm already here, it feels like this is definitely where I permanently want to be. Just being around so many good players makes me want to improve myself as well.
“I was fortunate enough to play [practice rounds] with one of the alums from where I used to go to school in Australia for high school, Anthony Quayle.
“He just got his DP tour card. I've had two practice rounds with him and he's gave me great advice just about tour life, and shot shaping and managing on the course.”
