Thursday, May 03, 2007

PGA Tour pros are, uh, regular folks too

It's easy to forget that pro golfers are just regular people when they're not doing their jobs.

They are usually very well compensated, nicely tanned and accustomed to being pampered people, but otherwise they're vulnerable to the same curveballs life throws at everyone else.

Take Trevor Immelman, who looked almost flawless shooting a 68 in the first round of the Wachovia Championship. He's spent most of the past month, um, in or near a restroom, having contracted what doctors believe was a parasite that turned his system into something he'd prefer we didn't go into too much detail about.

Immelman spent three years building himself up to 178 pounds, doing all the right training to build muscle to a frame that includes one of those disgustingly slender waists.

And in the space of about two weeks, Immelman was down to 156 pounds, eating toast, rice and drinking water because that's all that worked. The problem seems to have past and Immelman has packed on two pounds recently but it shows how regular tour players really are.

Then there's Padraig Harrington, whose 66 was the best round of the morning, sporting a two-inch scar above his right eye where he had a sun spot removed. It wasn't the most serious form of skin cancer but it was worrisome enough that he had it taken off during the first week of a three-week break.

Harrington spent his downtime at home in Dublin, Ireland, where the weather was good enough for him to hang out in shorts and T-shirts. Now, Paddy's back, feeling good and holing putts.

Brad Faxon is coming back from a battle with Lyme disease. Brett Quigley is still adjusting to being a new dad. Tiger Woods is getting closer to being a dad for the first time.

In other words, it's not all 9-irons and birdie putts on the PGA Tour.

But most days, it ain't bad.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What is "X"? I've played in CLT for years and have never heard of it.

Anonymous said...

How about some tidbits on what the players, celebs, broadcasters are doing while they are in town.

I thought I heard, at the beginning of the Golf Channel's broadcast on Thurs, that Peter Oosterhuis had just moved here?!?