"At three he started digging holes in the yard to putt into, putting us all at risk of breaking something. At that point, my husband started to take him to the 9 hole par 3 course to play."
Fast forward to the present, that love is taking Tanner, now 7 years old, all the way to the European Championship in Scotland this May.
It's obvious the Magnolia, Texas, resident has talent. Tanner has been playing competitively for two years and has finished in the top three in every tournament he has played in. He is also the junior champion at Lake Windcrest and recently tied the record lowest score in US Kids Tournaments by shooting an 8-under 28 on 9 holes. (Click here and here to see video of Tanner in action)
It hasn't been all easy for Tanner, though. After having trouble seeing to read, a specialist told the family that Tanner had an inability to focus. His mother says he was seeing two words for everyone on a page. That meant he also saw two golf balls and two golf holes on the course. Glasses are correcting the problem, but the family says since he has never been able to focus, he has never learned depth. Right now he is trying to pace his putts to correspond distance to time.
"It rather peeves him," his mother said. "He is thrilled to not see double anymore. We had no idea he was [this way] for the longest time, I guess when you always see one way you think that is how it should be."
Plus like any other student, Tanner has to keep his grades up to keep playing, say his parents. That's dedication when you consider he is studying and out on the golf course every day for about three to four hours.
"We both worry about him burning out, but we can't exactly not let him do what he loves either," Kate said. "So we cross our fingers and let him golf like a mad thing."
Kate and her husband, Mike, aren't quite sure where Tanner's abilities come from. Mike plays several sports and even though Kate says she "stinks" at the game, her uncle did play golf for the UK.
No matter the source, his parents believe it is the love of the game that keeps Tanner going. Just don't ask him about another certain golfing prodigy.
"When asked at the Champions Tour in Augusta Pines if he was the next Tiger Woods, Tanner responded, 'No, I am the first Tanner Davis,'" Kate said.
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