Muniyappa fighting with back to the wall
NEW DELHI: The 2009 Indian Open often figures in their conversation. C Muniyappa remembers being lifted from the 18th green of the DLF Golf & Country Club to the score recording area. For Gautam, his man on the bag, the win led to a place called home.
Muniyappa shared a part of the prize money with Gautam, who bought a house near the Capital. It’s never been the same for him, or his benefactor, who is trying to piece together his life.
That win on the Asian Tour opened up a host of opportunities for Muniyappa, who went on to win the rookie of the year award as well. Under the impression that his troubles were behind him, he traversed from one big tournament to another before being struck by a lower back injury the next year. TOUGH TIMES Matters got worse and changing doctors did little other than add to his phonebook. As the pain shifted downwards, desperation set in. From getting his ankle punctured (to remove a blood clot) to injections cost- ing ` 25000 apiece, medical bills bled Muniyappa right through the one-and-half years he was away from golf.
He made a comeback in 2012, but clawing back has been painful. The support (from his sponsor) all but gone, Muniyappa has ploughed on, committing his earnings and much more to playing the Asian Tour last season. The medical exemption has since gone, and he’s left playing the domestic circuit and Asian Tour events at home like the Panasonic Open.
The confidence that he can regain his rightful perch even had him travel to Las Vegas for a few sessions with Butch Harmon, former coach of Tiger Woods. He was assured that injury hadn’t affected his swing but the state Muniyappa is in, words aren’t enough.
Concrete steps are required, and it is here that lack of formal education is proving to be a deterrent. In these desperate times, Muniyappa is still reluctant to talk about his struggle, but with resources fast drying up, he is praying with pursed lips that it doesn’t force him to part ways with his first love.