So I am a little sorry that there wasn't a fourth round update from the Aussie Open. It was a crazy day and there has been alot happening. I actually wrote a great piece on that day but unfortunately for the second time now the iphone app that I use shut down randomly prior to me finishing it and it didn't save a copy!! I will give you a much shorter version here.
The final round wasn't what I had hoped for and to be honest it was a day I would rather forget. It started well enough and I was playing solidly through the first few holes. I hit a shot from the rough on the 4th hole and didn't think much of it but as it turns out I actually hurt a tendon at the base of my right thumb and within two holes it was really hurting. I had the physio come out on course and give me some running treatment and some drugs but my confidence to hit the ball was shot. I couldn't commit, especially on the iron shots where I was making contact with the ground. I battled on to shoot 4 over, to add to a miserable run of Sundays in the past few weeks. My day was going to go from bad to worse though as after another visit to the physio he decided we needed to call the doctor in to check the thumb more thoroughly. After his examination and my trip to Japan for finals due to start the next day, he decided that an xray and an MRI was required to make sure we had a recovery and injury management plan in place to hopefully get me through the gruelling q school finals. The MRI in itself nearly caused more injury as I was required to lie face down on the bench with my arm outstretched and hand in a clamp of some sort so it wouldn't move. And for those who haven't had an MRI before you aren't allowed to move for the duration which is around 30mins!! That was tough! The trip back to Royal Sydney to see the doctor was at least met with good news. He had been on the phone with the doctor who had examined the results and it was confirmed that I had only strained the tendon not torn it which was the absolute best news and outcome possible. The doc then strapped it up to immobilise it for the next 36 hrs and I was given my action plan. It was going to be crucial that I did all that was possible to look after it if I was going to be pain free to tee it up on Tuesday in a practice round. I travelled over on a Jetstar flight and have to say the staff were brilliant, bringing me ice every 2 hours on the flight so that I could maintain the icing process to try and get the inflammation down in time. Japanese finals is in the same place as last year and couldn't help but think that my luck was out over here given that my campaign last year was seriously derailed by my kidney stone dramas and this year I hurt my hand two days before the first practice round! The good news is that my hard work on the hand has paid off so far as I have been able to play both practice rounds without any pain whatsoever. What a relief that is, as I now feel like I have a fair chance to have a good crack at getting back onto the Japanese tour again for 2014. I haven't had any success at this venue as far as qualifying goes but this year I bring some solid form here and feel good about my game. Once again it will be a test of endurance over the 6 rounds starting tomorrow and it will be that age old challenge of trying to beat the course designer and limit the amount of bogies on the card. 108 holes is a lot of golf and certainly feels like it takes forever to make a dent in the number of holes remaining. At the end of the day I need to make some birdies but really a serious chunk of those holes needs to be pars. So this week is about patience and that if the birdie doesn't come, chalk up the par and go to the next. This is a marathon and I am ready for it. I look forward to bringing you stories from my week this week and also the week after next where I am off to Aussie Finals in an attempt to get a better catergory fo
1 Comment
leigh grundy
12/6/2013 01:47:49 am
Thanks for the blog, I am following with interest, you deserve some good luck. all the best for the 6 days. Cheers Leigh
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AuthorCatch up with everything from the tour as I let you know about the course, conditions and my thoughts and feelings on how I am playing.....also some cool stories from the tour!! Archives
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