Blake Adams played hurt for so long that he had forgotten how it felt to swing a golf club without feeling pain in his hip. And it showed last week when he returned to the PGA Tour for the first time in nearly a year.
Adams, a Georgia Southern graduate who lives in Swainsboro, has spent most of the last two seasons dealing with major injuries. He had left hip surgery in 2013 and left hip replacement in 2014. So when he made his debut last week at the Humana Challenge, he wasn’t quite sure what to expect.
That question got answered when he shot a 64 in his first competitive round.
“Everything felt great,” Adams said. “I knew I was hurting before, but you never really realize how hurt you are. Now I have a range of motion that I haven’t had since probably 2007.”
Adams, 39, appeared to be poised to break through when the hip trouble stopped him. He played only two events in 2013 and returned late in the year to play eight events before finally giving an OK to the hip replacement in July.
“I’m very blessed,” he said. “I’m very fortunate to play golf for a living, and the last two years have been a battle and a struggle. But to be able to stay home and be a dad and a husband for the first time and to be able to coach my son’s team and go to dance recitals, it was a blessing.”
Adams showed up in California two weeks early and hit so many golf balls in preparation that he aggravated his back. It was his back, not his hip, that acted up in the second round and led to a 79. He was fine again the next day and shot 69, but still missed the cut.
Adams will play again next week at Torrey Pines and the following week at Riviera. He is playing under a major medical extension and has 16 tournaments to earn $497,000 or 278 FedEx Cup points in order to remain fully exempt.
Woods makes 2015 debut: Tiger Woods will make his first appearance of 2015 at the Phoenix Open. It's his first start at the event since 2001. He's not won in three tries in Phoenix, but did made a hole-in-one at the raucous 16th hole in 1997. It's also where fans moved the "loose impediment" best known as a small boulder to clear the way for one of his wayward shots in 1999.
Also making their first start of 2015 are Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth, who won the unofficial Hero World Challenge in December. Kevin Stadler is the defending champion.
Conners defends at Jones Cup: Corey Conners, runner-up at the 2014 U.S. Amateur at the Atlanta Athletic Club, will defend his Jones Cup Invitational title this weekend at Ocean Forest. The Kent State grad opted to wait to turn professional until after the Masters.
The tournament is the first big amateur event and can establish the early leaders for the Walker Cup team. Top Georgians in the field include Lee McCoy of Georgia, Anders Albertson of Georgia Tech, Jimmy Beck of Kennesaw State and Robert Mize of Columbus State.
Etc.: Summer Sirmons, a member of the University of Georgia's women's golf team that won the 2001 national championship, has been named general manager at Steel Canyon Golf Club in Sandy Springs. … Covington-based Bridgestone Golf has added two-time LGPA major champion Stacy Lewis to its team. Lewis will use the B330-RX golf ball this season, starting with the season opener this week in Ocala, Fla.
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