Nick Bachem won his first elite golf tournament at the weekend. For him a “crazy thing” that still feels “unreal”. In an interview, he explains why.
For as long as he can remember, the golf club has been his favorite piece of sport and the golf course is where he spends most of his time. He had his first golf club in his hand at the age of five and played his first tournament when he was seven, remembers Nick Bachem from Cologne. Now, at the age of 23, he has triumphed for the first time on the really big golf stage.
Unusual autograph marathon after tournament victory
At the tournament in Johannesburg, his only twelfth start on the DP World Tour (formerly European Tour), he hung ahead of the competition by four strokes. “It still feels a bit like a dream. Now I’m a winner on the tour forever,” Bachem told WDR on Tuesday.
“Two years ago I was still an amateur golfer, and now people suddenly want photos and autographs. That took me three hours after my win,” says Bachem. It’s a “nice, but also a strange feeling”: “I’m only playing a round of golf.”
The man from Cologne is playing it extraordinarily well. Because he has always worked towards it and winning tournaments as a professional is his lifelong dream, he also enjoys this appreciation very much. After the success in South Africa, he will now probably allow himself a five-week sabbatical before playing in tournaments in Europe.
“I’m feeling lucky” flown to South Africa
His first triumph makes things a lot easier for him. “Because of the win, I’m in the winner’s category for this year and next,” says Bachem. This gives planning security when selecting the tournaments. In South Africa he still trembled whether he would even slip into the field of participants in Johannesburg and before that in San Francis Bay. “I’m feeling lucky” he flew down.
Nick Bachem teeing off.
The way to his first tournament victory was like riding the wave of success. In his case, you can take that literally, since he, as a passionate surfer, not least used the tournament in San Francis to ride the waves at the surfing hotspot Jeffrey’s Bay. “It was incredibly beautiful. We lived right on the beach. My girlfriend was there too. It was a dream week for me.” Between the waves, he went to the golf course, where he already achieved the best result of his career on the World Tour in 18th place.
Bachem hints at strong form in Nairobi
A result that he topped a week later with his first tournament victory. Not only his surfboard and the waves would have helped him, but above all the tournament appearance in Kenya at the beginning of the month. Bachem had already indicated his strong form at the tournament in Nairobi when he was still in second place after two rounds.
Ultimately, after four laps, he “only” managed 52nd place, which he sees as an important experience. A good performance “staying through four laps is something else,” said Bachem. He was always convinced that he was capable of such achievements. But in the end, a lot of things are a matter of the head and confirmation in a list of winners is important.
Bachem’s goal is a top 50 in the world
Tours like the one to South Africa don’t bother him: “I don’t know it any other way. I’m always really looking forward to going home, but when I’m home for a week my fingers tingle and I have to go again.” Good prerequisites for a golf career, with the really big tournaments of the PGA Tour overseas tempting.
By winning the tournament in Johannesburg, Bachem jumped almost 200 places in the world rankings to 273rd place. “My goal is to be in the top 50 in the world to play all the majors and big tournaments,” says the man from Cologne. But first he has to classify his recent success and set himself new goals if necessary: ”The limits are just a little lifted. Then maybe everything is possible. My journey with golf is just beginning.”
“Hypermobility” makes Bachem doubt his career
Nick Bachem talking to his caddy.
Bachem appreciates what has already been achieved: “You never know how often that happens. There are also people who have played for ten or fifteen years and never won a tournament.” In addition, after more than three years with numerous injuries, he had doubted whether it would even be enough to become a professional. Torn ligaments in the ankle, shoulder and wrist would have shaken his big plan.
It wasn’t until he visited a performance diagnostics center in California with the national squad that he noticed that “hypermobility” was his problem. He has now gotten his joints, which are more flexible than usual, together with the associated ligaments, under control through appropriate adjustments in training and during warm-up.
In the phase with the many injuries, he “learned a lot”. He relates this above all to the mental level, on which he is characterized by a serenity that seems to steer his sporting ambition in performance-enhancing paths. One could certainly have said that it was a risk to play the professional card after school without any training or studies. But he never saw it that way: “If it hadn’t worked out, I would have done something else.” Nevertheless, this first tournament win is good for him and his parents: “It’s a huge relief that it’s worked out now.”
