I came back to South Africa for 10 days after the Women’s PGA Championship where I had another interesting experience.
I kicked my toe on the corner of the bed at 4:30am while getting ready for the first round because I was second off that day. I heard it and it just went sideways; I knew straight away that it was either dislocated or broken … hoping it was ‘only’ dislocated.
I got to the course and saw the physios. They said they weren’t willing to put it back in place if they didn’t know the exact nature of the injury. They said they’d tape it up and see if I wanted to try to play. They then told me, ‘We’ll see you in half an hour. If not, you’ll go for x-rays, otherwise we’ll see you after the round and you’ll go for x-rays.’
So they taped it up, I took painkillers, got the shoe on and tried to figure out a way to hit a golf ball. It was interesting. It wasn’t fun on the course. I don’t know how I did it, actually. I told my mom’s friend that I didn’t know if I was brave or stupid, and she said we’re going to go with courage.
Even though I made the cut, I was disappointed in a way. My coach Doug was out with me the week before so we figured a few things out and I was starting to hit it nicely. I also like the course and then the toe thing happened. I think that’s why I felt confident enough to play – I knew I could get around but not to my full potential.
I had to figure out distances because I wasn’t hitting it as far; I couldn’t hit a draw, so anytime there was a draw shot, which was required a few times, I took one more and tried to hit a soft fade. It was just about being flexible with the shot you had to hit. I knew some shots were just not possible, and I had to accept that and hit it to a certain area and go from there.
My caddie says it comes in threes. We had my back at the US Open, she got sick and now my toe, so we should be done.
I told my coach I just want to play when there isn’t something wrong with my body. He said it’s just one of those stretches, sometimes you get them and you just have to ride them out. It wasn’t great at the Women’s PGA but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be at least.
Sure, I made the cut the last four weeks but I’m not competing and I don’t really feel like just ticking the box to make the cut either, grinding my butt off to finish where I am because I’m not 100% well. It’s not worth it sometimes.
I chilled at home after the tournament. I didn’t really have a choice. If I tried to put on a shoe it was still too sore to hit, so I decided to make a call that week as to whether I’d play at the Evian.
I went and saw the sports physician in SA for my back and he also checked my toe. He said he wouldn’t do it, he’d give it the proper three to four weeks and let it heal properly. But he knew it was a Major the following week so he told me to give myself that week to heal.
I waited to see if I could hit to my full potential and if I couldn’t, there really was no point because I’m tired of playing at 60%. I decided the foot was OK and that I would play.
I’m looking forward to the Olympic Games. Any time you represent South Africa it’s an honour, and that’s what you’re going there to do. Sure, you’re going there to compete and to try to win a medal but the experience you get at the Olympics is not like any other tournament because you are among all these amazing athletes.
I’ve always said golfers are also precious, though. The village is fantastic, but it’s basic and the amount of traffic means it will take about an hour to get to the golf course. So it is going to be a long, hard week from that point of view which is why a lot of players aren’t staying in the village; their federations are paying for hotels. But I’ve said it’s one week, we can suck it up, and you go there to have the experience. If you stay in a hotel, it’s like you’re playing any other tournament.
The men play the week before us; it’s a disadvantage in a way because they finish on the Sunday and we start on the Wednesday; normally we’d start on the Thursday. I’m only arriving on the Sunday because there’s no point getting there earlier. Last time I twiddled my thumbs, so I’ve learned from that.
This year I’m going to have a different mindset to Rio because I feel like if all goes well and I’m in good health, I have a chance to compete and win a medal.
– This column first appeared in the August 2024 issue of Compleat Golfer magazine.
Photo: Scott Halleran/Getty Images
