Man-of-hour Mamat wins it for wife Naz

MANILA, Philippines—Mardan Mamat, a burly, 6-foot-1 Singaporean who was all poise and composure for four rounds in winning the 96th ICTSI Philippine Open, broke down suddenly when he talked of the one person that prodded him to keep trying.

His wife, Naz.

“She’s the one who told me to keep on playing, even when I haven’t won for six years,” Mamat, wiping tears away, told local scribes.

“She told me: ‘Are you crazy? You love the game so much, so why would you quit,’” Mamat added.

The 44-year-old Mamat, the former caddie who once carried the bag back home for Filipino veteran Mario Manubay in 1986, was already pondering on a career in coaching with his last win coming in the Singapore Masters six years ago.

“There was a time when I said it was time to be a golf coach, but she said, ‘Not in your dreams.’”

Naz’s motivation and the fact that Mamat has been seeing 40-something-players winning in the US PGA and European Tours on television gave him the confidence to keep on trying.

“I just told myself that I had to stay in shape, because those guys (US PGA and Euro Tour players) are doing it,” he explained. “I kept myself fit and worked hard on my game and I thought ‘I could be the same as them.’”

Now he’s in their league. And like them, he has a very supportive woman behind him.