Former double winning US Open champion, Retief Goosen has returned to competition after a long five-month absence following back surgery.
Goosen has not teed-up anywhere since finishing well down in 48th place in last August’s PGA Championship at Kiawah Island.
He then took the big step of going under the knife and then after three months recouperating, Goosen has spent the past two months building up for his comeback at this week’s Volvo Champions being staged on the familiar Durban Country Club course where he played as an amateur.
“It was a scary decision at the end, but I think at the end, I had no choice,” said Goosen. “I had an L3‑L4 disk that totally disintegrated really.
“And then I went to this Mr. David Harrison in London, who is a spinal surgeon, and we did a disk replacement; and really since the day after surgery, I was walking; and a week later, my back was feeling good.
“And so far, it’s been five months now and it’s still feeling great. Getting a bit tight from hitting a few rounds in the last couple of weeks and played about six rounds of golf in the last couple of weeks but so far still good.
“Last year I tried a bit of everything. We had PRP injections, loads of physio, anything you could think of but nothing really helped. And in the end, we had no choice but to have the operation.
“And it’s been great. It’s been almost five months now. I’ve been off painkillers. That cleans the system out a little bit. You feel a bit better. So I’m feeling very confident for this year. I started hitting balls, like I say, or half‑shots, about three weeks ago and I felt pretty good.
“So about two weeks ago, just before the deadline to enter for this, I decided I would enter for it and see I feel; to last week I was up at Zebula Country Club and I played a couple of rounds there and my back felt pretty good and I decided would I give it a go.
South African Retief Goosen ends a five month abence away from the Tour following back surgery. (Photo – www.golfbytourmiss.com)
“So I’m very excited about the new year. Hopefully the back will stay as good as it feels now. I just need to really work on my swing a little bit and find a bit of game.”Goosen, who has slipped to 107th in the World Rankings, will play the opening two rounds in the company of Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey, who qualified in capturing last year’s Hassan 11 Trophy in Morocco.
And after losing out in a play-off in the 2012 Volvo Champions to fellow South African Branden Grace, Goosen will look to draw on his fond memories of the Indian Ocean seaside course.
“I don’t really know what to expect as I’m feeling good and sort of keen to play again after five months off,” he said.
“I like Durban Country Club. I lost by a shot to Ernie in the South African Open, and it’s a course I like. I’ve got some good memories about the course and hopefully that will help me this week.
“So I’m not really sitting here expecting to win but you never know in this game. But I just hope to have a good week, after five months off. This will be my first week of playing six rounds of golf, and see how it feels and how we get on and take a week off next week and then go onto Qatar and Dubai.
“But I’m looking forward to the year. As I say now, I’m feeling different and my back is feeling a lot better. My mind is sort of a bit cleaner. I’ve forgotten all the bad shots I think.
“So now I just need to remember some good ones and get going again. It’s nice, in the last couple of days, I’ve probably hit more balls than I’ve hit for a long time.
“Today I hit quite a few balls and my back is still feeling good. So it’s a question now of just building up slightly, getting my game really and hopefully when I get to the U.S. around the end of February, my game will be back.”
