Twelve-year-old Raphael (Raph) Anderson of Wānaka will compete at the US Kids Golf World Championships in Las Vegas this August.

Raph qualified for the championship when he finished second in the South Island Under 13 Golf Tournament held in Cromwell in January.

“It’s pretty exciting to go over there [Las Vegas] and play,” Raph said on The Outlet Podcast.

The event is the largest junior golf tournament in the world consisting of a parade of nations, a parent-child tournament, demo days, three rounds of championship play and a closing ceremony.

Raph, who currently plays on a 10 handicap, said he has been going to the driving range since he was three and began playing golf when he was nine.

“I thought this is awesome,” he said. “This is what I want to do.”

In preparation for the tournament Raph is training up to two hours on school days and plays every weekend.

“When I’m going to the golf course there is always something to work on,” he said.

“Hitting the perfect golf shot is just something I want to keep on doing, it is a bit addictive.”

Wānaka Golf Club junior programme head Kyle Clark has been coaching Raph and he says the opportunity to go to the United States is pretty special.

“It’s pretty special to go over there and play against some of those top juniors and see how he goes against them,” Kyle said.

“He did really well to qualify for that, I don’t really think that was on our radar when we sat down and talked about a plan eight to ten months ago.”

Raph’s talent has not gone unnoticed as a US college recruitment specialist has been speaking to his family.

“We had the opportunity to sit in on an interview with a person who specialises in recruitment for US colleges,” Raph’s father Harley Anderson said. 

“If that is what Raph wants to do in the future, that prospect is there.”

PHOTO: Wānaka App