Champagne Louis

You have said before that being a part of Ernie Els' junior foundation was instrumental in helping you make the decision to turn pro, so perhaps we shouldn't be surprised to learn that you've started your own junior golf academy ...

That's right, although we’re quite a bit smaller than Ernie’s foundation. We’ve got eight kids, all from around the Mossel Bay area and we go to the local schools to find kids who really want to play – who maybe can make a living out of golf one day. It’s all about giving them opportunities to play in tournaments, which is something I benefitted so much from with Ernie. The oldest is 17 and the youngest is only 11 and they’re a great bunch. One of our little ones just finished second in his age division at the World Junior Championship, so it’s great to see the guys playing well.

Another young golfer who is playing well and who is much in the news is China's Guan Tianlang. What did you make of his achievements at Augusta?

Well, I saw him on the range, but I wasn’t very happy that he beat me [laughs]. He was great. He’s not a long hitter of the ball because he’s still very young, so to play that golf course the way he had to – going in with rescues and woods into the par-4s – was something else. For a 14-year-old to make the cut – I don’t think we’re going to see that again for a while.

Obviously the Masters provided plenty of rules drama following the Tiger drop, but what are your thoughts on the slow-play penalty imposed on young Guan?

You know, there are a few things to probably look at. With Woods, I think the officials misinterpreted the rule completely. With Guan, I think it was his fourth or fifth warning, but maybe they could have handled it better by letting him play first and telling him afterwards. He was in a situation where he’s trying to make the cut – and I think he was pretty close to the cut line at the time – so it was probably better waiting until after to have a chat with him. But you know, this game can be tough. I don’t think it was an easy decision for [referee] John Paramor to make, but he had many warnings, so he had a chance [to speed up].