A potential world-beater is incubating in Johor Bahru, and this weekend’s Southeast Asia Disc Golf Championships 2025 here could be his debutante ball. You’ve heard of Tiger Woods? Johor-born teenager Jean Poignee could be to the fast-growing sport of disc golf what Tiger was to regular “ball golf”.
With jargon like “fairways”, “birdies” and “putting”, disc golf is similar to its older sibling in almost every way except with frisbees and chained baskets replacing balls and holes with flags. The sport, which is popular in the US and Europe, has grown fast in Malaysia since 2018, starting with its first public disc golf courses (DGCs) in JB, and will debut at this December’s SEA Games in Thailand as a demonstration sport.
It’s not without reason that the devoted Malaysian disc golf community is abuzz right now over a 16-year-old German kid they still call “Little Jean”.
On Jan 12, Jean won the top MPO (mixed pro open) division of the Singapore Sling 2025 C-tier tournament with a two-round score of -11 at the Tanglin Hill course in Singapore. He won by a commanding 8-stroke margin over James Lai of Kuala Lumpur (-3), and defending champion Richard Creelman from Honolulu (-2).
Meanwhile, Redha Fahmi Radzuan and Sean Raj, both of Johor Bahru, finished with scores of +4 and +9, respectively.
Jean’s thumping Singapore Sling win caps a remarkable 12-month journey which began with a surprisingly strong showing at the inaugural regional championships, but a disappointment nonetheless as he threw away the lead to finish fourth behind eventual winner Manabu Kajiyama, Asia’s highest-rated pro. Back then he looked like a mild-mannered and innocent 15-year-old; today, he wears a look of determined focus while on the course, even if just for a practice round.
Jean was a chubby adolescent when he first discovered disc golf around Christmas 2018. American expat Eric Grover had built Malaysia’s first public DGC in May that year, after moving to JB with his Malaysian wife Jenna Tan, and was busy setting up a fourth course near Jean’s home in Leisure Farm. Eric introduced “Little Jean” and his father Dominik to the sport and the then 10-year-old kid started playing “at least five times a week”.
The Disc Golf Professional Tour (DGPT) beckons and Jean is psyching himself up for a run at the big leagues. His biggest takeaway from his January 2024 collapse is how lead cardmate Manabu never lost his cool.
“I’m pretty much over that loss now,” said Jean. “I think that’s something I’ve come to do very well this year, moving on very, very quickly from disappointment. Just from playing so often in tournaments, I’ve come to realise there’s no point in dwelling on negative feelings. You should focus instead on what’s next.
“That tournament was really cool because I got to play with Manabu, and I was beating him until the cameras came on and everything went downhill for me. The difference between us is that Manabu was always laid back, going with the flow, and his consistency never wavered. Every single putt of his, including those from 20 metres out, had a chance of going in. It really opened my eyes to how good the pros really are, and how cool under pressure they are.
“These days after a loss, I’ll go out and play the next day,” he added. “There’s no point getting upset because it’s just going to make it worse in the future. If you just get over it and improve, you won’t have to go through the same thing the next time.”
A few weeks ago, Jean was back at Missile Hill DGC for a practice round with mentor Eric Grover and others. He looked nothing like the overwhelmed 15-year-old kid from 11 months before, much less the 11-year-old adolescent who wowed the world in the Global Pandemic Putting Challenge.
Over two evening hours, Jean notched a new course record of -15 with 13 birdies and an eagle. The previous best was -11, recorded at the first SE Asia Disc Golf Championships by Hong Kong’s Tsz Ho Ming.
The SE Asia Disc Golf Championship 2025 takes place on Jan 18 and 19 at Bukit Indah’s Roundabout DGC and Missile Hills DGC in Medini. Jean will again face defending champion Manabu Kajiyama, with disc golf hall-of-famer Scott Stokely joining the tournament this year.
