Jhonattan Vegas makes his first Australian Open a family affair

Jhonattan Vegas’ first trip to Australia has become a family affair.

Jhonattan Vegas watches on as Tiger Woods plays at Torrey Pines during Vegas’ rookie season on the PGA Tour in 2011.

Jhonattan Vegas’s first trip to Australia has become a family affair. The popular Venezuelan will jet into Sydney next week to play the Australian Open at Royal Sydney alongside his brother Julio.

His wife and eight-month-old daughter will also make the trip, along with his mother and father. It has all the hallmarks of a Griswald family vacation.

Only Vegas insists he is not here for a holiday. The 29-year-old Olympian wants to win, not just in Sydney but in Melbourne the following week, when he and Julio will represent Venezuela in the World Cup at Kingston Heath.

“Always, that’s the No 1 goal,” Vegas said. “But at the same time you have to have a good time. That’s kind of how we do things as a family. We’re going to really, really enjoy being there. We’re going to play to win, do everything to win.

“We will also do a lot of things to enjoy ourselves. There is time for both things. You want to play good golf. But it’s also about really enjoying that experience of playing golf there, especially since I have never done it before. I think taking that approach makes the game a lot more fun and allows you to play the game even better.”

Vegas has the potential to ­become one of the cult stories of the summer. As a youngster, the tale goes that he began playing the game with a broomstick and a rock before graduating to one of the courses near his home town of Maturin, which were built for workers in the country’s oil ­industry.

His father Carlos later became involved with two other golf clubs, allowing Vegas to chase his dream. At the age of 17, knowing next to no English, he packed his bags and flew to America to attend the University of Texas.

Venezuelan instructor Franci Betancourt became his mentor and Vegas was on his way. He graduated from college with a ­degree in kinesiology and five years ago won his first title on the US PGA Tour, the 2011 Bob Hope Classic, in his rookie year.

At the time, his homeland was under the control of president Hugo Chavez, a man who made no secret of his contempt for golf. Yet Vegas became an instant hero, something he reinforced this year when he won on the US PGA Tour for the second time, at the Canadian Open.

Australia now looms as the next challenge for a man who has climbed his share of mountains. “I am excited, I am really excited, mainly because I have never been there.” he said. “I have heard so many great things about playing in Australia. Lots of friends on tour have told me great things about the courses. Also what I have seen on TV over the years.

“When I heard the World Cup was there I decided it was a priority this year. I played the World Cup in 2009 with a friend and I had a great time, when it was a team event. I decided I wanted to play and then it was even sweeter when no one else qualified and I had to choose my brother. We don’t get to play that many team events during the year.”

Asked what his brother would have done had Vegas chosen ­another partner — the top-ranked player from each competing ­nation is allowed to pick the other member of the team — he said: “He would not be happy, let’s put it that way. I have played some team events with him when we were amateurs. We get along really well, we have a great time together. ­Obviously the stakes are a bit higher at the World Cup. When we committed to play the World Cup we really wanted to experience more of Australia.

“When we heard the Australian Open was going to be played in Sydney, we decided to make it a double event. It was a double bonus.”

Vegas is close to a handful of Australian golfers, including Aaron Baddeley, who will return for the Open. He has a big personality and a big game to match.