Australian Lukas Michel forced to put Augusta dream on hold
The coronavirus forced the postponement of the first major of the year, The Masters. And along with it was the postponement of a young Australian golfer’s dream of walking the fairways of Augusta National.
Michel earned his place in the field for the 2020 Masters after winning the prestigious US Mid-Amateur title last September but has had to shove his dream for the moment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Masters has now been rescheduled for November.
Channel 7 caught up with Michel during the week at his home in Oakleigh in Melbourne (see below) and John Huggan wrote a great piece from Golf Digest his journey to golf including his father’s remarkable escape from war-torn Czechoslovakia and the subsequent move to Australia.
Three months after arriving in Australia, Ivos was working in a factory, his English improving every day. His next employment was down a uranium mine in Western Australia. After a few years of that, he moved to Perth, where he opened a deli. All the while he felt like he was being watched. Which he almost certainly was, by Czech spies. His brother, Milos, got in touch to say that he had been questioned by the authorities back home. They knew where Ivos was.
Before coronavirus, golf's first major of the year – The Masters – was set to begin on Friday. It put an Aussie amateurs Augusta dream on hold, so he's sharpening his skills in a makeshift backyard range in Oakleigh. https://t.co/5zYfOfohG3 @_AMcCormack7 @GolfAust #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/OLEXIfFtlc
— 7NEWS Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) April 7, 2020
