Immelman's goals are modest as he returns to competition
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- How he played at the Waste Management Phoenix Open last week wasn't as important as the fact that he was playing at all.
Yes, Trevor Immelman missed the cut at TPC Scottsdale. But the former Masters champion had spent the bulk of the last four months recovering from surgery on his left wrist so the mere act of competing was huge.
"I feel like there might be a bit of a tough period here to begin but I feel like it's just going to be part of the process for me to get to where I feel like I should be," Immelman said. "... It's frustrating. I'm definitely the type of personality who wants it all to happen yesterday. But it's just going to be one of those things.
"Everybody out here has got a story and I'm very fortunate to be able to play on the PGA TOUR."
Immelman, who will compete again this week at The Honda Classic, had the surgery on Oct. 22. He was in a cast for three weeks. He was able to start putting just before the Christmas holidays and hitting pitch shots after the New Year. He didn't play nine holes until a month ago.
As he stood talking on the practice range last week, Immelman made a casual gesture with his left hand and the scar, maybe two inches long, was visible on the outside of his tanned wrist. There are two tiny incisions on the top.
"There was some torn cartilage up here and then some bone and tendon stuff had to be cleaned out," Immelman explained.
The young South African originally tried to play through the pain last year, alternately resting and rehabbing the wrist between cortisone injections. He can't point to any one shot or an accident around his Orlando home that started the downward spiral. The tendonitis just worsened as he continued to play.
"To be honest with you, I started feeling it in about September of '08," Immelman said. "Obviously, after winning Augusta I was so busy, and there was so much stuff going on and I was finishing off the Playoffs. Around THE TOUR Championship (presented by Coca-Cola) was when it really started hurting and I was taking painkillers.
"We tried a few different things to try to get it to come right but nothing worked. I don't know what caused it. Nobody knows. Could be golf, could be anything. Just one of those funny things that comes along."
What Immelman does know, though, is that he probably should have called it quits long before he did. He didn't compete on the PGA TOUR last year after the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, although he tried to play in Las Vegas -- which was when he realized something had to be done.
So Immelman flew directly to New York and met with Dr. Andrew Weiland, who performed similar surgeries on Jim Furyk and Luke Donald and is slated to repair Billy Horschel's wrist, too. Immelman had the operation the following day.
"It's funny,'" he said. "As an athlete, they can shoot you and you still want to compete. A lot of times you're wondering if you're imagining the pain. There were certainly days when I felt like I could hit the ball without pain for a little while and there were other days I couldn't even grab onto the club.
"You're kind of like wondering if you're playing a mind game with yourself."
The MRIs showed he wasn't. In fact, Immelman now feels like he should have shut it down around the time of his title defense at the Masters, when he was in "excruciating pain" but managed to finish 20th.
"I just think the pure love for the Masters and for Augusta National and the fact that I was defending champion, I got through that week," he said. "I actually played probably the best I played all year. I should have definitely called it quits by then. No doubt."
Immelman felt the pain most acutely when he was hitting his driver or one of his woods or long irons. He learned to compensate, though, and he's just now trying to work his way out of some bad habits he picked up.
A two-time winner on the PGA TOUR, Immelman says his expectations right now are "zero." He shot a pair of 73s last week -- making three birdies, five bogeys and a double bogey. He says he's in a "building" phase right now. He just wants to swing freely again.
"To be honest with you, I'm just trying to complete rounds,'" Immelman said. "That sounds crazy but I'm just trying to get out there and play. I think it's going to start with me just getting back into the swing of things from a mental standpoint."
There was an upside to the layoff, of course. Immelman got to spend quality time with his childhood sweetheart and wife, Carminita, and their son, Jacob, who is approaching his fourth birthday.
"The toughest part was the three things that I do, playing music, working out and playing golf -- my three hobbies -- were all taken away from me at once," he said. "... So it made me sit back and appreciate some of the other things."
Immelman is playing things by ear right now. In some ways, he said he feels like a rookie again. One thing's for certain, though, he won't take the game for granted -- not after this surgery or that operation he had prior to his Masters victory to remove a benign tumor in his ribcage.
"It's just been such a crazy roller-coaster ride for the last two or three years,' Immelman said. "Extreme highs and extreme lows. But I guess that's part of life for everybody."
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