Not so fortunate is another Colorado Open champion, 2007 winner John Douma. The former University of Colorado golfer was in peak form heading into the second stage of Tour qualifying last month. But on the eve of what could have been a life-altering tournament, Douma fell victim to an appendicitis, which led to an emergency appendectomy. He subsequently had to withdraw from his stage 2 tournament that was scheduled for Nov. 12-15 in Kingwood, Texas.
Douma immediately took his case to the Tour, asking if he could instead play in a second-stage event the following week.
“They wouldn’t even let me switch; they said you’re out of luck,” Douma relayed in a recent phone interview. “Here I had a life-threatening, fluke thing, and they say ’Tough luck.’”
Douma asked if he could at least receive a refund of his $4,500 Q-school entry fee, but that plea was also rejected.
“With all my travel expenses and caddie fees, I have about $8,000 wrapped up in it, and that’s down the tubes,” said Douma, a Denver native who now lives in Scottsdale, Ariz. “Here’s an organization I’ve been supporting since 1999 (through Tour qualifying fees) and for them to just say tough luck …”
Douma said he plans to write a letter to the Tour -- and have others do likewise -- requesting that he be given an automatic spot in the second stage of Tour qualifying next year. “I mean, give me something,” he said.
There’s plenty at stake for a player such as Douma, a veteran pro who has never earned his Tour playing privileges. Had he successfully advanced through the second stage, he would have been guaranteed at least some Nationwide Tour status in 2009 by just finishing the final-stage event. And the top 25 finishers and ties in the final stage of Tour qualifying will earn PGA Tour cards for next year.
Douma’s appendectomy was especially frustrating given how well he had been playing. Shortly after earning his first official money ever on the PGA Tour by finishing 57th in the Frys.com Open in late October, Douma placed third in the first stage of Tour qualifying, in Santee, Calif. And in the week leading up to the second stage, he had shot rounds of 7 under par and 8 under par in Arizona.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Douma said of the circumstances. “I had just qualified for the Tour event in Scottsdale and made the cut, and I breezed through the first stage. I was at the top of my game.”
The 34-year-old flew from Arizona to Houston on Nov. 9 and began experiencing considerable pain in his midsection. He thought at first it might be food poisoning, but on Nov. 10, two days before stage 2 began in a Houston suburb, he underwent an appendectomy.
Douma didn’t immediately give up hope, though. He remembered how Jeff Overton had competed in the PGA Tour’s Ginn sur Mer Classic in late October just nine days after undergoing an emergency appendectomy. But Douma’s request to switch his second-stage tournament to one the following week was rebuffed by the Tour.
“It’s such a cruel game as it is, but to fall victim to something you can’t control is really bad luck,” Douma said. “What really hurt the most was that I was so on top of my game. Everything was laid out for me.”
As it turned out, Douma would not have been able to play in a second-stage tournament beginning Nov. 19 even if the Tour had granted his request. He visited the emergency room last week after experiencing bruising and swelling in his abdomen, and anticipates not being able to play golf for another one to three weeks.
Though Douma could very well miss a Gateway Tour Desert Series qualifier Dec. 15-16, he expects to be ready to go for the Desert Series opener Jan. 5-7.
As for the final stage of PGA Tour qualifying, 163 players will compete over six days at two courses in La Quinta. Three competitors with strong Colorado ties are in the field: Stadler, White and Golden native Leif Olson.
Stadler, son of 1982 Masters champion Craig Stadler, has played full-time on Tour in 2005, 2007 and 2008. By virtue of finishing 145th on the 2008 money list, he’ll have at least partially exempt status next year regardless of what happens in La Quinta, but he has a chance to improve his situation with a top-25 finish.
Olson was a junior amateur state champion in Colorado in the mid-1990s and he now resides in Florida.
