Michael Hendry had simply certified for this third Open Championship final April after a second-place end on the World Metropolis Championship in Hong Kong. However he began to really feel fatigued – getting off the bed was a battle, and he slept for practically 12 hours a day.
Hendry, 44, went to the medical doctors pondering he had the flu. After just a few exams, he was identified with leukemia.
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Michael Hendry throughout a apply spherical previous to the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon. (Oisin Keniry/R&A/R&A by way of Getty Photos)
The golf professional from New Zealand wrote to the R&A to withdraw from the match whereas he underwent remedy, however they informed him they might maintain him a spot as a medical exemption if he had been wholesome sufficient to play.
Simply over a 12 months later, Hendry took the primary tee field at Royal Troon.
“It was unimaginable. Phrases cannot actually describe how grateful I’m, not solely to the R&A, however to all the medical doctors and nurses who’ve helped me over the past 12 months,” Hendry stated. “It was extraordinarily particular. That is one factor that basically received me by means of my restoration. To lastly be right here and teeing it up was extraordinarily particular.”
After being admitted to the hospital, Hendry misplaced about 30 kilos because of the chemotherapy remedy he acquired over the course of six and half weeks.
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Michael Hendry performs a shot on the sixth gap on day one of many 152nd Open Championship. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Photos)
The chance to play in the Open was a shining gentle on the finish of the tunnel.
“That gave him one thing to stay up for when he was sick,” Tara Hendry stated after her husband completed his spherical on Thursday.
Hendry began off slowly, going 3-over in his first 5 holes.
“It was a combination of an excessive amount of reminiscing, too many ideas about, ‘Jeez, I’m truly right here, I’m truly doing this.’ As soon as I received by means of that, I managed to kind of simply get myself again into match mode and performed fairly nicely.”
Hendry would calm down and finish the day with a 3-over 74. Hendry’s two daughters had been in attendance to look at their dad play.
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New Zealand’s Michael Hendry throughout day one of many Open at Royal Troon. (Zac Goodwin/PA Photos by way of Getty Photos)
“This might very nicely be my final British Open. So having a younger household, and my women at the moment are simply on the age the place they’ll type of perceive what Dad does, and to have them right here and experiencing the Open, which is the largest, the oldest, the perfect golf match of the lot, it provides them a extremely cool perspective as to what Dad does.”
Hendry certified for the Open in 2017 and 2018, lacking the reduce each occasions.
Hendry, now in remission, is trying to make his first reduce at a significant championship on Friday.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
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