Paul San is living his dream.

While growing up in Malaysia, San dreamed of playing professional golf.

Now San is making it happen.

Since graduating from Alabama A&M in May of 2019 with a degree in sports management, San has returned home to Malaysia and is in the early stages of pursuing his dreams of professional golf.

During the past few months, San has earned a spot on the PGM Tour (Professional Golf of Malaysia) and is in the process of attempting to earn a tour card with one of the region's larger golf organizations.

For San, the challenges of professional golf have been a challenges that he has embraced.

"I believe that everybody has their own way to deal with different adversities that come with playing professional golf," said the 23-year-old, who made his professional debut at the PGM Impian Closed Championship in July 2019.

San's attempt to earn a spot on a major professional golf tour currently have been placed on a temporary hiatus.

This was out of his control.

Just after taking his first crack at the Asian Tour's Qualifying School in March, most of the world was placed on a social break as the novel coronavirus pandemic spread across the globe.

The pandemic also had an impact on the world of sports, temporarily pausing athletic competition — including pro golf events.

San holds a PGM Tour card through July, and is optimistic about continuing his career beyond. When golf resumes, he plans to participate in PGM Tour events along with events in the Asian Developmental Tour.

"There's quite a number of circuits I can try, the Thai domestic tour, the Philippines local tour and, of course, the ADT and China," he said.

"I figure I will play these schedules, but would certainly like to play in I the legs outside the country to gain experience."

San's first professional outing at Impian Golf & Country Club ended on a positive note, as he closed with a 2-under 70 for a 288 total sharing 18th spot with fellow pros Rizal Amin and Daeng Abdul Rahman.

"I was excited and nervous at the same time, because I've waited all my life to turn professional," he said. "I managed to calm the nerves a little better on the last day and finished the tournament strong.

"A few other events that I played were the ADT (Asian Development Tour) tournaments in Glenmarie and Sabah. I shot 3­under-par to finish in a tie for 25th at Glenmarie and 6-over to finish 20th at Sabah (Sabah ADT Championship)."

San, who returned to Malaysia after graduating from Alabama A&M is grateful to his personal coach, Shane Gillespie, not only for his instructional advice, but also for helping him realize the virtues of having a good education.

He met his coach during the various clinics conducted by the PGA TOUR during the previous CIMB Classic, when he was one of the junior golfers from the region invited to attend.

"I am forever grateful," he related. "It was about midway through my college experience that I realized the value of an education and how important it was to always have a backup plan should professional golf ever fail."

San admitted that their relationship was more like family rather than just coach and player.

"We have been through so much together and he is a big part in my life and always will be.

''As for what we are working on, it is not so much about technique, but how to have the proper mindset and course management settings to assist me with making the most amount of birdies, along with the least amount of bogeys, San said. "It is truly a work in progress, but I am confident that with his guidance and a lot of hard work over time, I will get the hang of it."

Though his collegiate golf achievements were modest by his own admission, with two individual wins and two team victories, he said the experience was valuable.
In his final event as an Alabama A&M student-athlete, in May of 2019, San finished second at the annual PGA Works.

"Playing Division-I golf can be very difficult as the field is very unpredictable and strong," he said.

"Some days you feel like you did well to shoot 5-under to win and someone comes in at 6-under to steal it. It's just such a great atmosphere to build your game up to the next level. I stayed competitive throughout the semesters and I think that's what made me stay at the No. 1 position on the team."

His tenure at Alabama A&M also saw him post his career lowest round, a 9-under 62 at Huntsville Country Club, which was his university team's home course.

San was among a group of players who joined the Malaysian national amateur team at the relatively young age of 15. His entry was made easier by the presence of the late Arie Irawan, who took him under his wing.

"He was such a kind soul, he was like a big brother I never had," disclosed San.

The highlights of his amateur career included three Malaysian Amateur victories, in Sabah (2012), Kuala Lumpur (2015) and Sarawak (2016), as well as representing the country twice in the Lion City Cup.

Winning the Sabah Amateur was a memorable experience for the then 16-year-old, as it was his maiden state amateur title, though his win in the KL Amateur at Kelab Golf Perkhidmatan Awam (KGPA) was the standout in terms of scoring.

San posted rounds of 69, 71 and 70 for a 6-under 210 total to defeat some of the best amateurs of Malaysia and Singapore at the time, all turning pro before him. He finished ahead of Daeng Abdul Rahman, Amir Nazrin and Gregory Foo of Singapore.

The victory was sweet for the teenager, as he secured it on the last hole when Daeng, who posted the lowest round of 68, failed to hole his breaking 15-footer, while San sank his five-footer for the win.

"My short game was really good all week," San said. "My game feels really good right now."

The KL Amateur Open, which offered ranking points in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), featured 116 players from Indonesia, Singapore, Korea, Japan and Malaysia.

San was also part of the team that finished second in the Lion City Cup in Hong Kong in 2011 with following year he joined teammates Solomon Emilio (now a pro), Albright Chong and Afif to secure second place in the same tournament in Indonesia.

San agreed that the foundation of his game was laid firmly in his junior years, when he not only played in the local Sport Excel circuit, but also ventured out to play in prestigious junior meets in the U.S., like the Callaway Junior and the Optimist.

"They gave me the spark to initiate the fire, drive and passion I have for the game,' he said.

San has stepped into some large shoes as the newest touring professional from Saujana, Malaysia—a place where several great golfers have roots, such as two-time ADT winner Irawen, 2016 Masters winner Danny Willet and former world No. 1 Lee Westwood.

San is well aware of the unpredictable nature of his calling and accepts that the going will not be easy.

"Right now I'm a nobody who is trying to prove himself. I am giving myself several years to make some headway in my career," San said.

"The whole concept of having a long road ahead can seem overwhelming when you are trying to take it all in at once, but if you are focused on just putting one foot in front of the other, it does start to seem more achievable," he explained.