Chicago golfer Ahmad Raoul plays with the pros to tee up for the big stage
CHICAGO (CBS) -- An area golfer got a pretty amazing opportunity recently to play with one of the stars of the PGA tour.
CBS 2's Matt Zahn caught up with him at the Jackson Park Golf Course working on his game, and setting his sights on one day putting himself on golf's big stage.
Since the first time he swung a golf club, Ahmad Raoul has been in love with the game.
"Oh my god, I need to do this the rest of my life."
Raoul, a Mt. Carmel alum and now rising sophomore at Winston-Salem State University, is a graduate of the First Tee of Greater Chicago. That program helped hook him up with a pretty amazing opportunity leading up to the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte.
Raoul, and two other First Tee graduates and current HBCU students, got to play in a Pro-Am with Rory McIlroy.
"Wouldn't have gotten the opportunity without Wells Fargo and First Tee. It was truly a blessing to play with Rory and Alex. Learned a lot, gained a lot of information to help me succeed down the road," Raoul said.
He added "playing with Rory was a dream come true. I played some pretty good golf, thankfully. I felt comfortable in that environment. I can get used to this. I'm trying to play professional golf one day."
Raoul is putting in the work, because as cool as it was to play with Rory McIlroy in a pro-am, he wants to be out there competing against him on the PGA Tour someday.
"He said I have a pretty good game. At the end of hole nine, we were taking pictures. Told him hope to see one day out here, and he said I hope so too," Raoul said. "That moment was monumental for me. (It) let me know that I can get to where I want to be if I put the work in. That is my ultimate goal."
What does that work involve?
"Hard work, dedication, believing in myself. (It's) been my goal since I started playing at age six. I know I can get there and one day I'll be there."
And Raoul said he plans to play in a lot of amateur tournaments this summer, as he put it, to try to get that competitive edge. During that pro-am with Rory McIlroy, Raoul had his Winston-Salem State teammate and Homewood-Flossmoor alum caddying for him.