The 20-year-old Open sensation? He wants Bryson and learned English via YouTube

At 2:05 in the morning in Tallinn, Estonia, Richard Teder writes that he’d be happy to talk, and that’s welcomed, because with Richard Teder, there’s much to talk happily about after his now-viral, hole-out-from-the-fairway eagle concluded an Open Championship final qualifier, bagged him a spot at Royal Portrush two weeks from now and made him the first-ever Estonian to play in any of golf’s majors.   

But you also wonder:

What in the name of the Claret Jug is Richard Teder, newfound golf superstar, doing up at 2:05 a.m.?

“Yeah, I texted you there at 2:05,” he says Thursday over the phone, at the somewhat more reasonable time of 5:30 in the afternoon.  

What were you doing up that late? 

“Good question.”

Understandably, part of that’s due to Tuesday’s affairs at West Lancashire Golf Club in England, where Teder’s 85-yard shot on the third hole of a three-for-one playoff found the left side of the cup, and celebration ensued. Teder was nearly body-slammed by his caddie, Janar Toomesso. Teder called his mother, Terje, who used to take him to Spain so he could play away from the Estonian cold. Teder and his gang also scavenged around town that night before settling on a kebab joint and a convenience store stop. 

But really, Teder was burning both ends of the golf club because that’s just who the bushy-haired, glasses-wearing, 20-year-old amateur is, a Lil Baby-loving, driver-enjoying dude who most astonishingly taught himself English as he watched golf.  

His English, as you’ll read, is also the Gen Z version, man. The author’s words, meanwhile, are in italics.  

RICHARD TEDER’S HOLE-OUT IN THE VIDEO ABOVE? IT FOLLOWED A PENALTY. Tuesday could have been different actually. No hooped iron. Maybe just handshakes. But on the 36th hole of the 36-hole qualifier, needing what turned out to be just a bogey to make the Open, Teder pulled driver. 

“Me being me, obviously.”

What does that mean?

“Well, I’m a very aggressive guy on the course, so that’s something that I would do. And, usually, it pays off quite well, but happened to not pay off that time. But still, if I didn’t hit driver there, it wouldn’t be as cool of a story.”

I like that. 

“So I don’t regret anything.”

And away his tee shot went — to the right. Teder said that was the bailout area. There was also water to the right, but he said he couldn’t carry it. He’d either find his ball, or take a penalty drop. 

“Even though I hit it far, I still can’t carry it,” Teder said. “And then I hit a little thin cut somehow. It just ended up right in the water. And then so the guys who I was playing with also said it’s in the water. So we walked down the fairway, and then because I was signaling that I hit it to the right with my hand on the tee box, people started looking in the right rough over the water. So the ref was kind of confused. And then I told the ref, there’s no way it carried the water, it just doesn’t make any sense. Harold Varner [who was playing with Teder], he also said that. I mean, it clearly went into the water. Like, you can’t see a splash. 

“The refs told us that if you didn’t see a splash, you have to go back. But you can’t see a splash because it’s so far away and there’s bushes around the water. So it was impossible to see a splash. And then no one saw it actually land in the rough or heard it land in the rough. And there was people standing there, so it clearly went into the water. And then the ref just told me, sorry, man, you have to go back to the tee box, which just made absolutely no sense.” 

What were you thinking on that drive back to the tee?

“On that drive back, man, just kind of disappointed in his decision, but I knew that, I mean, it was not over. I still have to finish the hole and try my best. And then ended up hitting a horrible drive, snap-hooked it so badly into rough knee-deep. So I’m lucky we found it. And then when I was standing behind the ball, I couldn’t see the ball because the rough was so thick. I could see a little piece of it. And I just opened the club face and hit it as hard as I can trying to make contact and get it out. So I hit it to like 60 yards, then hit it to 15 feet. Pretty decent shot. Spun on me a little bit too much. And then I knew exactly what that putt was going to mean. I knew if I made that putt, I have a chance to get into the playoff. And ended up rolling it in.”

How many times have you watched the replay of that hole-out now?

“Ohhh. That’s a really good question. Too many. Too many times. Way too many times.”

What time did you end up going to sleep? 

“Oh, I couldn’t sleep, man. I probably went to bed at like 3 a.m., and I had to wake up at like 6:30 [for a flight back].” 

So what does a meal or a drink look like for you after this? 

“Boy, that was oh, it was not good, man. It was not good. Everything was closed.” 

Oh, no.

“So we went to the sketchiest kebab place. So, had a few bites, it wasn’t very good. And then just headed to the shops and bought some snacks, some drinks, and then was just staying on my phone for hours on end, and it was just unreal.” 

What was the drink that you had while you were answering all the texts and calls?

“I had a strawberry aloe vera. Yeah, it was nice.” 

Who is the first person you called? 

“First person I called was my mom.”

NO ONE IN RICHARD TEDER’S FAMILY PLAYS GOLF. Not his mom, Terje. Not his dad, Sven. Not his older sister, Gerly. So how’d he start? A tennis tournament actually. His aunt, Triinu, won it, and the prize was 10 golf passes. (Hey, it was something.) Richard was 6 when he began, and mom and son were soon traveling to play. 

Estonia options are few. There are just seven courses in the country in northeast Europe that shares its eastern border with Russia — and where winter often bleeds into spring and fall for the 1.1 million people who call it home. 

How do you get good at golf in Estonia?

“Well, lucky for me, my mom’s doing this with me, and I’ve been going to Spain since I was 12 years old. So I try to spend three to six months there every year to practice and keep my game in shape. My mom, she wanted me to play outside the country and always practice on the grass because the weather’s so bad in Estonia. You can play here maybe five months a year. We went to Spain for a year when we went there for the first time. So we went, like, yeah, all in.” 

For someone who’s never been to Estonia, what do you do for fun there? 

“What do you do for fun? Uh-huh. Well, definitely have a look in the city. The Old Town is extremely nice, so everyone definitely has to take a look at that. And then during the winter, we go skiing, stuff like that. And, yeah, to be honest, there’s not much to do out here, man. There’s not much.” 

What’s your go-to restaurant in Estonia? 

“My go-to restaurant. Ooh, ooh, ooh. Very good question. Probably a restaurant called Gotsu, G-o-t-s-u. And it’s like an Asian restaurant. It’s unreal.” 

What’s the best Estonian food? 

“Best Estonian food. Well, we eat loads of potatoes, but I eat potatoes. Just potatoes, meat. Yeah, that’s it, man. Just loads and loads of potatoes.” 

What do you do away from golf? 

“Away from golf? Well, I play paddle. I love paddle. That’s cool. And just really hang out with my friends. And nothing special, man. Just a normal kid.”

Any kind of music interest? 

“Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Love music.”

What do you like? 

“Like rap.” 

Who’s your favorite? 

“My favorite artist, hmm.”

You can give me a top three if you want. 

“Top three artists? OK. Got to go Lil Baby. Hmm. I go Future. And then let’s go Lil Wayne.”

Are you a guy who listens to music on the range?

“Yeah. It helped me a lot at the range on the tournament day.”

How so? 

“I mean, I just saw the guys on the range. Really good players, man. And then just kind of nervous hitting heading next to them and then just put my AirPods in and then it just disappeared. I was dead-fine from after that.”

AT SOME POINT SOON, RICHARD TEDER WANTS TO PLAY ON THE PGA TOUR. Through a program for non-college amateurs, he’s hoping to earn a card this year on the HotelPlanner Tour, the circuit below the DP World Tour. A fair showing at the Open, of course, would help. Teder’s game is distance — he said his clubhead speed is in the 126-, 127-mph range, which would rank at the top of the PGA Tour — so his answer to the question of whom he’d like to meet in two weeks at Portrush was predictable. 

“Has to be Bryson. Bryson DeChambeau.” 

What would you say to him? 

“Oh, I’d love a picture with him. That would be nice. And then if I could have a long drive competition with that guy, that would be sick.” 

Who wins that? 

“That’s a verrrry good question, man. I’ve gained some speed over the last couple of years. I think he’s going to get me by a little bit, but not much, though.” 

What does a good week look like at the Open? 

“A good week at the Open. Just being there, man. Just already being there is already just unbelievable. I mean, well, the main goal is to make the cut, enjoy the game and just have fun, man. That’s all I’m trying to do is just have fun.” 

You mentioned the nerves at the final qualifier. Have you thought about what that might be like when you’re on the range at Portrush? 

“Oooh. Yeah. I mean, I hope it’s gonna be that crazy that I just won’t even feel the nerves. It just feels like it’s like over-the-top crazy. But I should be fine.” 

Can you win the Open Championship? 

“Can I win the Open Championship? I’d like to think so. I mean, if I play my best and really my best, if I play some good golf, I definitely have a chance, yeah. We all breathe in the same air here, so, I mean, we’re all humans. Nothing is impossible.”

RICHARD TEDER SPEAKS GOOD ENGLISH — BUT HOW? As the call was finishing, I asked Teder whether he’d learned English in school, as he spoke it well. He said he hadn’t, though.  

And if you’re curious as to what kind of golfer and guy Teder is, here you go.

How … are you holding a good English conversation?

“Just off like social media, YouTube and stuff. Just watched YouTube as a kid and just picked it up from there, man.” 

Wow. Yeah, I have more questions. So what is the YouTube channel that you learned English from? 

“Well, I’m just just watching all kinds of videos, man. Just trying to understand that and then used to play a few games as well and then just learning it from there really. But, yeah, I never studied at school or anything and never had any lessons.”

What is the video that you watched the most to pick up English?

“I think it’s just all golf videos. I mean, I used to watch golf videos all the time, just random golfers playing golf and some coaches explaining stuff and just trying to understand that somehow. I don’t know. 

“It’s a really good question, man.”

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