It meant a lot because it was my first time to compete as a senior at that meet, which was kind of weird because I've done senior all year, but I didn't get to compete last year because of my elbow.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
It just meant a lot because it's something I've always wanted to do. I've always wanted to be a Senior National Champ. I was Junior National Champ in 2002, so now to be the senior champ is great.
In high school and college, I was an athlete.
I was very hungry to compete internationally when I was 10 years old, and I was good enough to compete, so that part never made me afraid or worried at all. When I was at my peak, around 12 and 13, I won my junior national and senior national titles back to back.
But in 2000, the injuries really started to kick in and my elbow gave a lot of problems. At the end of the year I had to take 20 months off before I could come back into the game.
I was a competitive guy growing up.
You have to remember that I played longer than anybody else on the main tour; I played until I was 40, and then played another six years or so on the seniors tour.
I probably went into sports with a sense of competitiveness and came out of it even more competitive.
Even though arguably I could have done much better at school, I'd decided at a young age that I was going to be a professional sportsman at some sport. And at that stage, there was a bit of luck: I was fortunate to meet the right people at the right time to get me to where I am now.
I felt I could play in maybe a dozen tournaments a year as an amateur.
I began playing in the senior circuit when I was 15 and won the world senior amateur title the same year.