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19th Hole

Tom Lehman reveals 1995 cancer battle

Published

6 years ago

on

Sam Weinman of Golf Digest took a phone call from Tom Lehman in which the 1996 Champion Golfer of the Year revealed something shocking.

The year prior to hoisting the Claret Jug, a year in which Lehman played 18 events on the PGA Tour and won at Colonial, he was battling colon cancer. Indeed, Colonial was Lehman’s second start after a month-long layoff following surgery to remove cancerous polyps.

All of this was heretofore unbeknownst to pretty much everyone.

“It really didn’t seem to me it was worth discussing,” the five-time PGA Tour winner told Weinman. “I never had to deal with Stage 4 cancer or go through chemo or any of those awful things,” Lehman said. “Mine was early Stage 1 cancer, so why should I make a big deal out of it?”

Certainly, there are those for whom the disease’s ravages are far greater, yes, but still, to say nothing? That speaks to an incredible strength of character: a hard-nosed avoidance of any appearance of looking for sympathy or excuse making, as well as plenty of perspective as to where he disease fit in the pantheon of wretched afflictions.

So, why is Lehman saying something now? Out of a desire to help others, it turns out.

This week’s PGA Tour Champions event is the Cologuard Classic this week. Cologuard is an at-home colon cancer screening product. It was developed by the Mayo Clinic’s Dr. David Ahlquist, Lehman’s doctor during his cancer treatment.

Beyond this: Lehman knows his story is significant for a much broader swath of the male population than we’d usually label as “at risk of colon cancer.” Lehman was only 36 in the spring on 1995 when he was diagnosed, and it was mostly coincidence that revealed the disease.

Leading up to the 1995, Masters, Lehman was dealing with a full plate of the aches and pain that afflict anyone who makes thousands of golf swings year after year. Usually pill avoidant, Lehman popped Advil three days in a row, which led to internal bleeding.

All of this led ultimately to Lehman landing at the Mayo clinic and the malignant polyp discovery. So, again, Lehman’s story is relevant well beyond the gray-haired set. .

“For me the scary part is when you think about the percentages. When they catch the cancer in an early stage, like I had it, the survival rate is 98 percent. When it gets beyond the colon, it goes down to something like 2 percent. What if I didn’t take that Advil that led to the bleeding? At the time I was 36, and I never would have gone to get a colonoscopy. It would have just grown and grown and grown.”

Indeed. Physicals. Annual trips to the dentist. Prostate exams. Colonoscopies. These are all torturous, thoroughly unpleasant things. Yet they are all massively better than finding out you’re terminally ill with something that was treatable if caught sooner.

We don’t want to lose a GolfWRX Member to something that could have been prevented, so listen to Tom Lehman and don’t skimp on the regimen of screenings.

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19th Hole

Justin Thomas on the equipment choice of Scottie Scheffler that he thinks is ‘weird’

Published

50 mins ago

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Apr 22, 2024

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After Justin Thomas’ third round of the RBC Heritage, the two-time major champion went in the broadcast booth alongside the CBS crew.

While Thomas was watching Scottie Scheffler play on the back nine of his third round, he wondered aloud why Scottie uses high numbered golf balls.

“Does anybody else think it’s weird that Scottie uses high numbers? I don’t know if I’ve ever seen an elite player use high-numbered golf balls.”

Amanda Balionis who was on the grounds chimed in, reporting that analyst Dottie Pepper had wondered the same thing earlier that day?

“I’ve been going about this wrong my whole life,” Thomas jokingly said.

Given Scottie’s incredible results this season, it may be a good idea for Titleist to stock up on high numbered balls for what figures to be a popular purchase for golf enthusiasts this summer.

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19th Hole

Golf fans left bemused at Jim Nantz over his Nelly Korda fail during RBC Heritage broadcast

Published

51 mins ago

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Apr 22, 2024

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During the final round of the RBC Heritage, Jim Nantz referenced Nelly Korda’s major championship win at the Chevron Championship on Sunday, which was her 5th straight victory.

However, Nantz mistakenly referred to Korda as “Kelly Norda” during the broadcast, leaving many golf fans puzzled.

Korda became the third woman to ever win five starts in a row, joining Nancy Lopez and Annika Sorenstam in the exclusive club.

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19th Hole

TaylorMade signs 15-year-old AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year to an NIL contract

Published

3 days ago

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Apr 19, 2024

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This week, TaylorMade Golf announced that they’ve signed AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year, Miles Russell, to an NIL contract.

In a statement, TaylorMade called Russell “nothing short of remarkable”.

“Miles’ record setting success at his young age is nothing short of remarkable and we are excited he chose us to support him in his growth as a golfer to continue to accomplish his career goals. Identifying and developing the top junior talent in the world has always been a priority for us at TaylorMade. Miles and his family epitomize the type of athlete and human being we are looking to add to Team TaylorMade.”

Russell has broken plenty of records in recent months. This season, he was named American Junior Golf Association’s Rolex Boys Player of the Year, making him the youngest male player to receive the award. The record was previously held by Tiger Woods who was about 10 months older than Russell at the time he received the award.

At age 14, J he became the youngest player ever to win the Junior PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass at age 14.

The 15-year-old also played in his first Korn Ferry Tour event on Thursday, the LECOM Suncoast Classic, and shot a first-round 68.

In the aftermath of the agreement, Russell released a statement.

“I have had a great relationship with the team at TaylorMade for years now and couldn’t be more excited to continue to work with them in the future. TaylorMade has a history of developing the top junior talent in the world to help reach their goals of becoming PGA TOUR and major championship winners. I am looking forward to working with the team to reach those and other goals I have laid out for my career.”

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