Maya Palanza Gaudin: Abu Dhabi's young golf superhero taking The Masters by storm

Rory McIlroy rarely visits his social media accounts for personal comments, but two of his last four posts are about Maya Palanza Gaudin – a 12-year-old Abu Dhabi resident who made history on Sunday by becoming the first golfer from the region to win the Drive Chip and Putt (DCP) National Final at The Masters.

From McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood to Thomas Pieters and Gary Player, Maya has friends in high places in golf circles, and on Sunday, at the venerable 18th green of Augusta National Golf Club, she let the world know why. The DCP is a premier competition and an integral part of Masters week, attracting the finest junior golfers through its massive talent hunt. Maya not only won her age category – Girls 12-13 – by a massive margin of four shots, but her points tally of 27 was the most for any of the eight categories of competition.

If you think that’s audacious, it almost seems second nature to Maya.

At the age of six, she walked up to Gary Player at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club during the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open, pulled his tee shirt in the middle of a clinic and asked if he was indeed the nine-time major champion. When an intrigued 81-year-old Player wanted to know who told a six-year-old about him, Maya said: “My grandfather. He also told me that Jack Nicklaus was better than you.”

One year later, Maya won a Skills Challenge of HSBC Future Falcons. Her prize? Hitting a shot with McIlroy on the par-3 15th hole during actual competition play at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in front of international TV camera crews and an audience of millions. Not only did she nail her shot, but she also forged a friendship for life with the four-time major champion.

For someone who had to fight hard to stay alive as a new-born