DeLaet May Have To Skip Canadian Open

From Canadian Press:





Graham DeLaet is unsure if he'll be able to compete on home soil at the RBC Canadian Open.

After sitting out the first few months of the PGA Tour season recovering from back surgery, the 29-year-old has returned to the sidelines with some stiffness and discomfort. It may keep him from playing at Vancouver's Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club in three weeks.
"I just love that golf course and the Canadian Open is obviously important to every Canadian, but I'm going to have to wait and see how I'm feeling," DeLaet said Thursday morning in an interview.

It's been a trying season for the native of Weyburn, Sask., who wants to be cautious with his injury.

DeLaet had surgery in early January to remove a portion of the disc from his back and faced a few months of recovery. He returned to a Nationwide Tour event the first week of June and made two appearances on the PGA Tour before withdrawing from the AT&T National last week.

He was done in by a five-hour practice session at Aronimink Golf Club near Philadelphia that left him feeling stiff the next morning. Rather than risk further injury, he went home.

"I can still play OK, but I'm just feeling too stiff to practise," said DeLaet. "It's hard enough to compete out there (on the PGA Tour) as it is. If you can't work on your game, it's impossible."

The nagging back problems have kept DeLaet from building on the momentum he established during an impressive rookie season.

He earned over US$950,000 last year and held on to his playing privileges. DeLaet will likely need to ask the Tour for a medical exemption that would give him 28 total tournaments stretching in to 2012 to earn the equivalent of 125th on the money list this year.

That ensures he'll have plenty of opportunities to earn money. He just wants to make sure he's back to full health when taking them.

"You can't be wasting starts if you're not able to compete," said DeLaet.

In hindsight, DeLaet acknowledges his return to competitive golf might have been rushed. He was understandably anxious to start competing again and believes his back probably needed more time to heal.

"I was just so excited to get back out there and it was probably a bit too soon," said DeLaet. "I've spoken to other guys who have had injuries and it seems like most of them do that too. It's hard to be away."

A decision on the Canadian Open probably won't come until just before the July 21-24 tournament. DeLaet has played two amateur events at Shaughnessy in the past and considers it his favourite in the country.