Estonia has 7 golf courses, a 5-month season and a 20-year-old amateur at the British Open

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland (AP) — No one could call Estonia an ideal breeding ground for golfers.

The Baltic nation of 1.3 million people has just seven courses and as few as 3,500 registered golfers. Because of its climate, the golf season can last barely five months.

Rising above these obstacles is Richard Teder.

That this thin-as-a-rake, 20-year-old amateur with a mullet, spectacles and self-taught English from YouTube is playing at the British Open as the first Estonian to ever compete at a major golf championship is one of the most uplifting stories of this week at Royal Portrush.

And he is experiencing pinch-me moments wherever he turns.

“Just being in the clubhouse and stuff, seeing Brooks Koepka and all these big, big names,” Teder says. “It’s so cool.”

Teder’s improbable path to the Open Championship began at the age of 6 when his aunt won a tennis tournament, earning a somewhat random prize: 10 golf passes.

No one in the Teder family was into golf so young Richard, who was just getting into sports at that point, was invited along.

Golf soon overtook soccer as his chosen pursuit and his mother decided to go all-in on Richard, taking him to Spain for months-long stretches during winters after he turned 12.

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“For us in Estonia, the golf season starts in May,” he explained at the back of the ninth green during a practice round at Portrush. “Obviously there are some people who just play golf once the snow has disappeared. But that’s not me.”

It has required more than pure talent for Teder to make it to the Open Championship, though.

He needed resilience, too, during 36-hole final qualifying at West Lancashire in early July after making a double-bogey at the last hole to drop into a four-man sudden-death playoff.

At the third playoff hole, Teder holed out for eagle from 50 yards to secure a spot at Portrush. He clasped his face with his hands and was soon being carried horizontally on the shoulders of his jubilant caddie.

“It’s the biggest tournament in the world — there’s nothing bigger than this — so it’s absolutely insane,” said Teder, who lives in Estonia’s capital city, Tallinn. “Everyone who plays golf back home knows what I’ve done and is very proud.”

Estonia, which neighbors Russia and regained independence in 1991 after nearly 50 years of Soviet rule, has few well-known sports stars.

Erki Nool won the decathlon gold medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Anett Kontaveit got to No. 2 in the world ranking in women’s tennis before being forced to retire in 2023. Ragnar Klavan, a soccer player, was at English giant Liverpool from 2016-18.

Indeed, coming first at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2001 might be the country’s most widely recognized victory.

Now it’s Teder’s turn to take the stage and it’s a big moment for Estonia.

“He is the first one to ever play in a major, so it’s hard to compare to anything else,” said Kristo Raudam, general secretary of the Estonian Golf Association.

“I think a lot of people who are interested in sports but haven’t been interested in golf before will catch up with the news and maybe try to watch it.”

If you do catch coverage of Teder, check out his drive. He says he’ll be “hitting it far,” boasting of a carry of up to 300 meters (328 yards) — a distance which would put him up there with the longest on the PGA Tour.

Otherwise, he’ll just be having the time of his young life.

“I don’t really watch golf, never really been to a golf tournament. So it’s pretty cool to be here,” Teder said.

“It doesn’t really feel real. But I know I belong here.”

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf