Boca Raton’s Bento Assis has captured four world golf championships, and he’s only 12.
The A.D. Henderson sixth-grader has developed quite a following in his young career having been featured in everything from newspapers to an interview on the Golf Channel.
His latest came in an episode of Team Whistle’s “I Could Do That,” which features young prodigies playing various sports. Assis squared up against another top player in the world, 12-year-old Xeve Perez (Georgia). In the episode, they attempt a series of golf challenges. It was filmed at his home course at Osprey Point Golf Course in west Boca Raton.
Assis won the first challenge (Putting Maze), Perez the second (Driving Fairway Challenge) and Assis captured the third (Chip Shot Tiebreaker). Assis, who has been training at the Don Law Golf Academy at Osprey Point ever since he moved to Boca Raton, also takes private and group lessons at the Academy.
“It was really cool,” said the Brazilian-born Assis, who moved to the United States with his family in 2017. He won the US Kids World Championship wins in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021, in addition to many other top important tournaments. He is currently ranked in the Top 10 in the world for his age group.
It was the second appearance for Assis with Team Whistle, a sports and entertainment media company. He also appeared in their original “No Days Off” series, which features up-and-coming entertainers and athletes doing their thing.
“It was challenging,” Assis said. “I was proud that I saw all of the cameras pointing at me and my performance made me really happy. I played with a great player too and he brought the best out of me. It made me nervous a little bit because I really wanted to win. I was proud because it had always been my dream to be in a YouTube video, the Golf Channel, or something like that. I stayed focused the whole time.”
Such brands as Under Armour and TaylorMade have supported Assis for over five years. In addition to his regular golf play, he also enjoys doing trick shots and has created several videos that have gone viral.
Assis, who practices every day, said he likes the individuality of golf. He will take what he did at a tournament and work on that on the driving range. He said he gets gratification when things he worked on show up on the course.
“I like sports where you don’t need a team to play,” he said. “Golf is a really hard sport to play, and I practice really hard. I have to rely on myself and not my teammates.
“It can be a frustrating sport,” Assis said, “but it helps me deal with a whole lot of what goes on in my life. I get really sad when I play badly, but I just go to the course and see the improvements. It makes me feel I did my best.”
Assis started playing golf when he was 2 and competed in his first tournament when he was 4. He’s accumulated nearly 100 trophies from his tournaments. He’s been a player of the year for the South Florida PGA and US Kids and won the Publix Doral tournament twice among his other big wins.
“It’s a big grind,” he said. “I feel like if I miss one day, I will play badly. I practice every day, so I don’t lose the rhythm. When I have school, I will practice between two and 2 1/2 hours a day, and when I don’t have school, I’ll practice for three hours in the morning and then try and play either 9 or 18 holes in the afternoon.”
Like most young players, Assis aspires of playing on the PGA Tour. He also picked up his lone hole-in-one in 2022 at Boca Woods Country Club. He used a hybrid on the Par 3 third hole that was playing 190 yards.
“I want to play when I am really old,” he said, laughing. “I want to retire when I win four majors.”
To see some of his trick shots, visit .
To watch the Whistle competition against Perez, visit .
