Scott Draper
Scott Draper has achieved success in two competitive sports making him one of the rarest categories of athletes, but flexing his vocal cords is an entirely different challenge.
Luckily the professional sportsman does not shy from stepping outside his comfort zone.
“If I had the choice of being a professional golfer or being able to sing in front of an audience, I’d pick the later. Music has the ability to touch you, to give you goosebumps. I love a challenge and am excited about trying something that I am passionate about,” says Scott.
Beginning his tennis career in 1993, Scott won over 120 professional matches during an impressive 12-year career. A Wimbledon junior champion, he achieved a singles career high ranking of 42 on the ATP tour, was a three-time member of the Australian Davis Cup Team and won a career ATP singles title in the 1998 Queen’s Club Championship. Scott also won the Australian Open Mixed Doubles with Samantha Stosur in his final year in 2005.
Draper made a brief return to the tennis circuit when he coached Lleyton Hewitt at the 2007 Australian Open but turned down the chance to work with the former No 1 and the security of coaching, deciding his future lay not on the tennis court but in playing on the professional golf circuit.
An all round sportsman, Scott took to golf to escape his grief after his first wife, Kellie, died of cystic fibrosis nine years ago. He took the skills and mental abilities of one sport and put them to good use in another. During his two years on the Australasian Tour he placed 4th in 2006 NSW PGA Championship, qualified for the 2006 Nationwide Xerox Classic placing 66 in his first ever US event and successfully gained a 2007 Australasian PGA Tour card.
In February 2007 he proved he could cut it in another sport when he won the New South Wales PGA Championships, giving him his first professional title.
Last year, Draper turned his talents to a completely different medium – writing. He has just released his first book, Too Good: The Scott Draper Story; a story of determination, grief and ultimately inspiration.
