Rayhan Thomas recently turned professional after completing a five-year golf scholarship at Oklahoma State University but prior to his move Stateside, the 24-year-old enjoyed a stellar amateur career in the UAE. He won on the MENA Tour, numerous local Opens, and several Emirates Golf Federation Order of Merit events.
But more recently the talented golfer earned conditional status on the PGA Tour Americas, as well as teeing it up on the Asian Tour in the International Series event in Morocco. It’s been a steady and impressive rise until now, and we caught up with him to find out all about how life has progressed recently.
WWG: Playing a practice round with Rory at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic a few years ago now. Was that inspiring, or intimidating?
Bit of both. He’s somebody I’ve looked up to for a long time. I was definitely inspired to play with him and see how his game is. It was definitely intimidating at the same time because I’ve been looking up to him for so long. I wanted to give a good impression. I was 17 at the time, so it was definitely a bit of both, but it was an amazing experience.
WWG: What did it mean to you when he said he was impressed your game and that you had a bright future ahead of you?
It meant a lot to me. He’s one of my favourite players who I’ve been looking up to as I was growing up. He had that Middle East connection so it was big for me to hear him say that.
WWG: Obviously he’s long off the tee, but what else did you learn from him? Not just his golf, but also his professional conduct?
He just looked extremely poised. It looked like nothing bothered him. Obviously it was only a practice round that day, but he seemed very relaxed. Me as a kid, I was a little bit more excitable, and he’s been doing it for a long time. It was impressive to see.
WWG: How has growing up in Dubai helped your game?
It was huge. The weather means you can play every single day, and the facilities at the Els Club, Dubai Creek and all around were fantastic. For me, it was paradise trying to get better.
WWG: Is there anything you miss about not being able to play so often in Dubai anymore?
Yeah, I miss my buddies and the weather. It was always a good time when I was able to play with my best friends every time I went on to a golf course. When you move away, I’ve built new relationships in America now so that’s become home, but I do miss the weather and people in Dubai.
WWG: How do you go about playing in not so great golf courses around the world, as we are spoilt in the Middle East. Has that been a bit of a test, maybe something you’re not used to?
I’ve played golf courses all over the world now at this stage. Good courses, bad courses, good condition, bad condition. You just have to suck it up, learn quickly as nobody it going to hold your hand regardless of what course you play, it’s all on you.
WWG: Then, leaving Dubai to go to Oklahoma to go to college. How did you find the initial transition?
I found it very easy, honestly. I had been travelling for so long and felt pretty independent by that point. Everybody was also so welcoming in Oklahoma and I made friends really quickly with my teammates.
WWG: How did you find the competitive level over in America?
The level was very high. I struggled a little bit in my first few years, but the last year has been really good for my confidence to see my game progress and be able to compete against those guys. The level of college golf is extremely high right now.
WWG: You say you struggled, just talk a little bit more about that. Did something click, or what changed?
It was always kind of progressing. Once I started to struggle, it did trend in the right way. This last summer I was hurt, so I was chilling out and caddied for one of my buddies on the Korn Ferry, Zach Bauchou. That really helped my game, kind of relax me, and see him play some really good golf after I see him struggle for a little bit.
WWG: At what point did you decide to eventually turn pro?
When I saw my game progress the last year, I thought I could definitely do this. If I keep progressing the way I am, I will end up playing on one of the big Tours. I really enjoy the game, I love playing it, so why not try and play it for the rest of my life? There’s huge upside to being good at golf. You can make a bunch of money and do good things, but at the end of the day you’re not doing anything like curing cancer, or going to the Moon, so you’ve just to relax and enjoy it.
WWG: What advice would you give any youngsters in the UAE who are looking emulate you?
I would just say you’ve got to work hard. You’ve got to be good if you want to play college golf, and progress in the right way. Pick a school that you can get some starts on and play. If you go to a school that’s too high of a level, you’re not going to get many reps. You’re going to need to get reps at some point if you think your game is really good and progressing. I’d say if you want to play college golf, you’ve got to play a lot of tournaments and get some good scores.
WWG: What would you do to try and further grow the game at a junior level in the UAE?
Keep expanding the junior golf programmes, that’s how I developed my game at the Els Club and Dubai Creek. They were really fun for me to do. I enjoyed every minute of. Dubai is doing a great job at expanding the game and try to encourage more kids to play.
WWG: If you turn the clock back to when you were 17 and played with Rory, would you do anything different?
I probably wouldn’t do anything differently. Just because, you know, the experiences have made me the guy I am today. Obviously I’m a lot smarter now about the golf swing and how my mind works, so I would just remind myself of all the things I do.
WWG: Do you work your clubbing out of the range prior, or have you got that feel factor coming in?
I don’t travel with a Trackman, I don’t have one. I use one when I’m back home in Oklahoma. To dial yardages in you’ve got to go on the golf course and find full numbers for you clubs. I think it’s better on the course, you can see everything a little better.
WWG: Going back to the professional side of things, it’s quite solitary sport in many ways. It’s quite expensive, though. Have you got good backers behind you?
Right now, I just have my Dad. He’s helping me out. He’s been extremely supportive, said go forward and we will figure out the rest. He’s a mechanical engineer and runs a shipping operations company. We’re just taking it as it comes. I have a few things in the works and hopefully they come through so I wouldn’t have to lean on my parents so much for financial.
WWG: And finally, how is the rest of the year looking for you in terms of playing starts?
I think for the most part I have some status in Canada from Q School. I’ve had some things lined up in the US, but when the opportunity came up to play recently in Morocco that was a no brainer. I’m kinda seeing where it goes from here. I don’t know what they will look like, but I will be playing Korn Ferry Q School in September. I will also consider doing the Asian Tour Q School at some stage as well.
