Who is Yadhu Urs, St. Lucia’s newest sports phenom who picked up golf only four years ago at the age of fourteen? Well, he is a kid from Vigie, Castries who moved to St. Lucia from Bangalore, India when he was three years old. What happens next is a story that can inspire a new generation of golfers in St. Lucia. It is one of a father and son driven by the same golfing passion, and working tirelessly towards golfing excellence.
Dr. Naveen Urs, a radiologist at Tapion Hospital, an exceptional golfer in his own right, and former President of The St. Lucia Golf Association (SLGA), completed coaching certifications in order to attain the expertise to mentor his son. Over the past four years they have been honing Yadhu’s skills religiously at the Sandals Golf and Country Club. On any given day, they would have been seen walking the course or on the driving range, diligently working on crafting Yadhu’s swing, mental strength, and understanding of what is required of him on every shot.
By all accounts that grind has paid off handsomely. Yadhu is a nine-time winner at SLGA Tournaments, has represented St. Lucia at The Eastern Caribbean Golf Association (ECGA) and Latin American Amateur Championships (LAAC). He placed first at The Barbados Junior International Championships and earned a golf scholarship at the Wheeling University in West Virginia, USA.
At Wheeling, Yadhu has built on the work started with his father. With two top ten finishes, one top fifteen, qualifying for The West Virginia Amateur Championships, finishing ninth at The Mountain East Conference Championships, and even cracking the top twenty five ranking for Division II golfers, all while maintaining an exceptional 3.9 GPA.
In early January 2022 Yadhu returned to St. Lucia, reuniting with his father, and continued the hard work on his home course in anticipation of a repeat visit to LAAC which, last weekend, resulted in the greatest sporting achievement by a St. Lucian amateur golfer in the history of our nation.
The golfing fraternity had high hopes that he would make the cut at LAAC which was held in The Dominican Republic at one of the best and toughest golf courses in the World suitably named Teeth Of The Dog. He played with the same grit and determination that he developed over the past four years with his father. Golf aficionados were buzzing with excitement when Yadhu shot a 1 over 73 in Round 1, placing him in the top 30 where the top 50 golfers qualify to make the cut for the weekend after Round 2.
With a cut line projected at plus 6 he had all to play for. Although he stumbled during the start of his round on Day 2, he regained his composure and finished plus 3 on the day, 2 strokes within the cut line. History had been made.
Relieved by making the mark, Yadhu played unbridled golf in his first nine holes which included four birdies. It was a dizzying display and glimpse into his potential, although the conditions proved challenging the rest of the way, he finished tied for 34th out of 103 of the best amateur golfers in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The future is bright for Yadhu and this year’s edition of LAAC proved so. In the end, the winner was an unheralded nineteen year old Aaron Jarvis from the Cayman Islands, a country with less than half of our population. Perhaps next year our very own Yadhu Urs will take it all. Or maybe, another St. Lucian youngster can also achieve golfing excellence in the future.