Mum of boy with special needs clarifies Scottie Scheffler "hello" moment during Open finals
The mum of a Northern Ireland boy with special needs who went viral on TikTok saying ‘hello’ to Scottie Scheffler as he was taking a shot at the Open in Portrush has clarified what actually happened.
Linda Attia from Derry/Londonderry was speaking after a clip of her 12-year-old son Zain, who has Down’s Syndrome and additional needs, saying ‘hello’ to the eventual winner of the Open Scheffler went viral on the TikTok account of ‘Golf on CBS’.
The moment, which was shared by the American broadcaster, showed Scheffler tee up a shot before stepping away from the ball again as someone shouts ‘hello’. The commentators in the clip assumed that it was a female voice who had answered a phone call.
The TikTok clip attracted over 28,000 likes and was viewed more than 411,000 times. Commenting on the clip, one person wrote: “Despicable woman who answered her phone”.
However, Linda said that both Scheffler and nearby spectators realised that it was an enthusiastic Zain who had simply been so excited at getting close to the golfer that he said ‘hello’.
“Zain is so sociable but he does tend to wander off at times,” explained Linda, who was at the final day of the Open with Zain and her daughter Erin.
The family were late on the course to see Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler teeing off as, just as they were about to leave their nearby caravan, Zain disappeared.
Once they arrived at Royal Portrush Golf Club, the golfers were already making their way around the course.
"By the time we got to the fourth hole, Scottie Scheffler had just arrived,” said Linda.
"Zain has no filter, he’s impulsive and spontaneous and I just saw him moving right to the front of the crowd saying ‘excuse me, excuse me’. Everyone was letting him through and he eventually got settled in beside an elderly American couple.
"It was so quiet, you could have heard a pin drop. I was just praying to God ‘stay quiet’ but Zain is just so sociable, he loves saying hello to people. I was actually amazed he had stayed quiet for as long as he had.
"Then he just said ‘hello’ he was so excited to see Scottie Scheffler. Scottie actually stepped back, looked directly over and smiled at him and went back to the tee.
"We didn’t realise that Golf CBS were commentating and made an assumption that a woman had answered a phone call.”
One person commented on the video to set the record straight, writing: “I was in the crowd and it was a child with special needs who was obviously excited to see the players, Li also had to step off the ball but of course media don’t mind creating their own narrative for views. It’s awful to see the hate that comes from a false story.”
Linda said that, far from being angry with Zain, spectators were joking with them, asking Zain to follow Scheffler around the course, chat to him and distract him in order to let Rory McIlroy try to claw back a victory.
"Other folk in the audience were laughing saying it was just a lovely moment. One of the marshals gave Zain the ‘quiet’ signs that they hold up at the competitions.”
Linda said that she just wanted to give the true account of what happened that day at the fourth hole.
“It was a reminder to people of the joy that kids can bring, especially children with special needs. Life if not just about perfection.
"It was a sweet, spontaneous moment and Scottie Scheffler reacted very warmly to it.”