The Gold Coast Bulletin

Back from the brink

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JOINING the likes of Rod Laver and Pat Cash on the Rosebowl Championsh­ips honour board was just the boost Calum Puttergill needed as he rebuilds his career from a huge speed bump.

Just 18 months ago, Puttergill was living in the back of his van in the Currumbin Alley car park.

It was the result of innocent mistakes made as a young adult that had temporaril­y derailed him in the form of a three-month ban and a hefty fine.

In placing a handful of bets on top-line matches wholly unrelated to him, the now 24year-old owns his mistakes but is unequivoca­l that he had not intended to do wrong.

The saga had a dramatic impact on his life.

“I had to pay back $6600,” Puttergill said of his fine.

“I was living in my van, I was coaching four hours a day, I was training four hours a day, and I was eating tuna and rice just to get on a level playing field and have a chance to play again.

“I got through that period and, thankfully, I had a heap of help and nobody looked at me differentl­y.”

Outside of his support network, however, strangers even now sometimes view him harshly, simply associatin­g his name with a series of online “Banned for betting on matches” headlines.

But all Puttergill can do is look forward and take pride in the fact that things are finally looking up again.

Last Sunday, he defeated Patrick Kotan 6-4 6-1 at Queens Park, in Southport, to seal his place in Rosebowl history, winning the prestigiou­s tournament without dropping a set.

It capped an excellent start to his five-week-old partnershi­p with new coach Paul Hanley, a former Australian Davis Cup representa­tive and Rosebowl winner.

“It’s cool to see your name up there (on the winners list),” Puttergill said.

“I thought I played pretty well. That was the end of week four of an eight-week training block so I’ve been training pretty hard.

“I haven’t been travelling overseas playing any pro tournament­s of late.

“I’ve just been working my butt off during the week and it was a nice little halfway checkpoint to play Rosebowl. He (Hanley) kind of proposed to me that we do a longer training block and to really leave no stone unturned.”

Puttergill is awaiting the chance to further test his progress in an upcoming wave of Australian Pro Tour tournament­s at Cairns, Darwin, Brisbane, Toowoomba, Melbourne, and Canberra.

And humbled by his Currumbin Alley experience, he can philosophi­cally look at his journey to date.

His story is a cautionary one for any young player, but Calum Puttergill is now back and firing, as Connor O’Brien reports

 ??  ?? Calum Puttergill has rebuilt his career after a ban for betting on matches. His win at the Rosebowl Championsh­ips means he joins Pat Cash (below).
Calum Puttergill has rebuilt his career after a ban for betting on matches. His win at the Rosebowl Championsh­ips means he joins Pat Cash (below).
 ?? Picture: SUPPLIED ??
Picture: SUPPLIED

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