Nakhabino, Aug 22: Golf fans have big plans for Russia, but it may take years before the world sees the likes of a Tigerovich Woodski. Ruslan Chirnitsyn has been playing golf for over half of his four-year life. He's a young Russian player in a young Russian sport. The sport, discouraged for being bourgeois under the Soviet Union, is rarely played. Russia is the biggest country in the world, but it has only one 18-hole golf course. In a nation of 145 million, only 5,000 people are believed to have ever played golf. Russian golf officials are hoping to change that. There are plans to build up to 500 golf courses in the coming decade and to make the sport affordable for ordinary people. But in order to make golf a national sport, enthusiasts are hoping for the emergence of a young Russian golf star. One-metre protege Russian has swept up Moscow's youth amateur competitions, under the watchful eye of his grandmother who is also his caddy. It's tough for toddler muscles to compete against strong teenagers on the long holes, but Ruslan has his technique down.


"The most important thing is hitting the ball and standing correctly. You hit the ball and you follow through, continue your motion until the end, you follow through until the end," explains Ruslan.


Russian golf was given a huge boost recently, when Moscow hosted its first-ever European Tour match. The Russian Open drew hundreds of spectators to the Nakhabino golf course with Australian Marcus Fraser defeating Austria's Martin Wiegle in a tense sudden-death playoff.


No Russian player in the tournament made it past the first cut, but they did get valuable experience at a pro tour.


"I think it's fantastic for the country to have a European tour. It gets a lot of people interested as you can see today from all the people being out here and I think it's really going places. Russia had an amateur shoot one under for the tournament so it's a fantastic effort. And guys like that they really need to look after and support. I think their country really climbed and one day I think one of their players might be able to win the Russian Open, and I'm sure he will," said winner Marcus Fraser.


The tournament also gave the golf-novice Russian public a chance to see the sport first-hand. Many of the spectators had never seen a live professional match, nor even swung a golf club.


Since Russia doesn't have a history of golf, it may take some time before top ranking players emerge.


"It will just take some time for Russian golfers to feel comfortable in professional circles and in professional golf," says one of the few Russian professionals, Konstantin Lifanov.


But sport history has shown that Russian athletes can strike suddenly. For the last decade, young Russian tennis players have dominated the high order rankings on the professional tennis circuit. A new generation of Russian golfers may do the same thing sooner than anyone expects. If not, then keep a eye out for Russia's one-metre golfing protege and his granny caddy.


Bureau Report