From Russia With Clubs

Maria Verchenova - once dubbed golf's "Maria Sharapova" - is letting her game do the talking as she goes in search of success on the Ladies European Tour, writes Paul Prendergast

A morning tee time in the second round was filled with promise of a fight back with the leaders set to face the afternoon conditions. For the first nine holes, it was much of the same stuff from Maria: good ball striking and a lot of missed opportunities on the greens. However, after nine straight pars, a 10-footer dropped on the tenth and further birdies on sixteen and eighteen gave her a round of 69 and an even par total for 36 holes. Alas, the afternoon groups enjoyed calm conditions instead of the battering winds Verchenova’s half of the draw had faced the previous day. This resulted in a record low four-under-par cut for the tournament, meaning, of course, that she had missed out on the weekend action.
However, this is not a story of what could have been in one tournament. From what I have seen up close of other LET winners over the last five years at this event, Verchenova’s game compares favourably. Ball-striking wise she’s certainly up there with the best of them. Her dedication, work ethic and desire to achieve cannot be faulted. By her own admission, her short game and putting is where improvement in her game will be best realised.
Rehab from a back injury last year provided her with a poignant reminder of the challenge ahead for the game in her home country. While waiting in a physiotherapist’s waiting room, she responded to a fellow patient’s question on why she was there and how she suffered the injury “Tennis, basketball?” When the reply was golf, the retort wasprompt: “Golf...that’s not a real sport.”
In a country where, according to Verchenova, Tiger Woods could walk down the main street of Moscow unrecognised but Roger Federer would be mobbed, golf in Russia has a long way to go to be accepted into mainstream culture let alone considered a sport or even a meaningful pastime. Verchenova realises that through her exploits she can shine a light for young Russian kids to follow in her path.
“I’m just like every other girl out here, practicing to get better, doing my own thing almost by myself. Hopefully I’ll be the one that bring golf to the next level at home and the one kids will point to and want to be like,” she says. “I’d like to do a kid’s golf school or academy at some stage in the future so that the next generation can really pick up the game and get interested in golf; get it on TV in Russia so that everyone can see that it‘s not something unusual for us. Maybe in 10 years, we can be a bit like what China is becoming.
“We have nice golf courses outside of Moscow but it’s a [long] way to travel to get to them. It’s hard with the weather but it would be great to see golf grow more. Sochi, in the south of Russia, would be a really good place for golf because the weather is good there most of the year.”
The biggest hurdle, says Verchenova, is the lack of a structured junior programme.
“We don’t have golf coaches,” she bemoans. “If I were to have kids who wanted to play golf, I would have to put them in an American university because you get to compete every week against other strong kids, which I couldn’t do when I was growing up.”
It’s clear Verchenova’s game is on the up and that her desire to be accepted for her golf deeds are on track and any success she has will do more for Russian golf than anything she can do off the course. At 24, she has time on her hands and seems to be well placed to maximise her opportunities from her new home base, where she is close to quality coaching and facilities.
It will be interesting to look back in five years time at her progress and how far the game in Russia has grown with her. There is no doubt the profile of the game in her homeland and their next generations of golfers will be linked to the pioneering steps she is taking now.
With a robust golf game, an engaging personality and a cheery disposition as part of her arsenal, Russia couldn’t ask for a better ambassador to lead the way.

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