DeLaet to shut it down for the rest of the year
Thu, 22 Sep 2011 08:41:12
by Jeff Brooke
Graham DeLaet will wait until 2012 before resuming his PGA Tour career.
The 29-year-old from Weyburn, Sask., has missed most of the year recovering from back surgery he underwent in January. He played three tournaments in June, but realized he had come back too soon. He made a Nationwide Tour start this month to test his recovery progress.
On Wednesday, DeLaet said he's shutting down for the year and will return fresh next January at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
"I'm playing some of the best golf of my career but still experiencing some lingering discomfort at the end of my rounds," he said in a news release. "With just a couple more months of rehab I'll be in great shape to resume my playing career."
His agent, George Sourlis, of Landmark Sport Group, said DeLaet is "almost 100 per cent but not quite there."
DeLaet, Canada's fifth-highest-ranked male golfer, earned his PGA Tour card at its qualifying school in the fall of 2009, and earned close to $1-million (U.S.) in his rookie season. But he finished the year in pain from a bulging disc that became herniated and required surgery.
Under PGA Tour rules, injured players can get their cards extended on medical grounds. DeLaet will have full playing privileges next year, for up to 26 starts.
He's not the only notable Canadian golfer who'll attempt put a lost year behind him.
Mike Weir of Sarnia, Ont., who had elbow surgery Aug. 18, said this week he's aiming to play a couple of tournaments next spring before the first major championship of the year, the Masters in April.
However, he added, he won't rush back if he isn't well enough.
