Delaet withdraws from PGA event with back injury
The Farmers Insurance Open was missing one Canadian when play began on Thursday morning.
Graham Delaet withdrew from the tournament just hours before his tee time at Torrey Pines, just north of San Diego. The official reason for the withdrawal was “back injury,” which most Canadian golf fans know is a serious punch to the gut for the 38-year-old golfer from Weyburn, Sask.
Delaet is in the midst of a comeback after taking nearly two years off and undergoing stem cell treatments and a second microdiscectomy on his ailing back, the same surgery Tiger Woods had twice before finally opting for a disc fusion.
“The frustration of a bad back can only be known by those who share my pain. Disappointed to have to WD this week,” Delaet posted on Twitter hours after his withdrawal.
The reinjury occurred on Wednesday morning at the Torrey Pines driving range as he was preparing to play in the Farmers pro-am. Delaet’s warm-up appeared to be going smoothly before one swing seemed to cause him obvious pain.
The golfer spent a few minutes down on one knee before limping to a nearby golf cart and leaving the range without comment.
Mackenzie Hughes, Roger Sloan and Michael Gligic are the Canadians in the field this week.
This week was to be Delaet’s sixth start in a comeback that began in October at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas.
MORE BAD BACKS
One man who knows what Delaet is going through is Woods.
Like the bearded Canadian, the 15-time major champ went through periods when he didn’t think he would ever get back to the PGA Tour. Woods’ comeback has been thoroughly documented, and for now, his future looks bright, fused back and all.
Defending Farmers Insurance Open champ Justin Rose was asked about Woods this week and said he’s mightily impressed and has noticed an increased fluidity in Tiger’s swing.
“I think, right now, he’s accepted where he’s at and what he’s capable of physically, and I think he’s playing within himself,”
Rose said.
Rose also detailed his own struggles with a bad back.
“I’ve been through a pretty bad back injury that’s not all that well documented, but I know how hard it is to come back from and I know how debilitating it can feel and be, so to have that multiple times in your career is quite something,” Rose said.
The Englishman also delved into what such an injury can do to a golfer’s mentality.
“A lot of times a player gets injured, physically you go, and then the mental side goes with it for a lot of people,” Rose said.