The episode you are about to listen to is with Othman Almulla, who is the first tour golfer from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was an honor and a joy to sit down with Othman to talk about his very unique journey and to learn more about him as a person and as a professional athlete. 

Othman exemplifies what it means to be a risk-taker and to have the guts and determination to follow his dreams. Othman is the very first tour pro to represent his home country of Saudi Arabia and is a genuine ambassador of the game of golf. 

Othman grew up playing multiple sports but focused mostly on soccer. Having had great success as a junior soccer player, his dream was to represent Saudi Arabia by playing on their national football team. That all changed when Othman picked up a golf club for the very first time at the age of 15 years old. He fell in love with the game and quickly improved his form becoming a scratch player by the age of 18.

Othman earned a scholarship playing golf in the US, but returned to Saudi Arabia to focus on competing at the highest amateur level possible in the middle east region. As well, he became a member of the Saudi national golf team during this time. 

To refine his swing and improve his game, Othman set out on a journey to work with different coaches, but, during this time, he was led further and further away from the natural swing and style of play that helped him to succeed in the first place. As a result, he experienced great struggle and hardship during this time that ultimately led to him to giving up the game. 

He decided to go back to university degree to complete his degree. However, the fire to compete and to play the game he loved still burned brightly. 

Although he had hit a roadblock in his game and had given up on his dreams, he was determined to get his swing back and to compete once again and this is when everything changed for Othman. 

All great achievers feel compelled to investigate their inner mind in order to confront the internal dialogue and emotions that can hold them back from achieving excellence. Othman is the kind of person who is very introspective and driven to better understand himself in order to not only survive as a professional athlete but to thrive. 

As the famous writer Ernest Hemingway once said, “The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, and the capacity for sacrifice. Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable, they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed, but never give up.”

Othman exemplifies what it means to be resilient and to put himself in the arena to do the hard work necessary to follow his dreams and inspire others to do the same. 

He recently played in European tour golf events in Dubai and Saudi Arabia and has his sights set on getting his European tour card. HIs self-belief and determination come shining through in this episode. It was great to chat with him and I wish him all the best with his journey. Without further adieu, my episode with Othman Almulla. 
About Othman
Othman Almulla (born July 9, 1986) is the first Saudi professional golfer, and was the first Saudi Arabian and youngest Arab amateur golfer to qualify and play in the Dubai Desert Classic, a major PGA European Tour event that was held February 1–4, 2007 at the Emirates Golf Club, Dubai, U.A.E. After winning the Qatar Open in January 2008, Almulla qualified to play in the PGA European Tour's Commercialbank Qatar Masters January 24–27, 2008 in Doha, Qatar.

Almulla also won the 2008 Saudi Aramco Invitational held at Aramco's Rolling Hills Golf Club in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia on Nov. 7, 2008, becoming the first Saudi national ever to win this tournament long dominated by Bahrainis. He also competed in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic in 2020 and the Saudi...