Published on July 20, 2024

Missing the cut can be a devastating blow to a professional golfer. But, as Michael Hendry can attest, it’s far from the be-all and end-all.

Story by Spencer Robinson, Asian Tour contributor, at Royal Troon.

The New Zealander may not have qualified to play on the weekend at the 152nd Open Championship, but the mere fact that he was able to tee-up at Royal Troon made him a winner.

Just consider that it was less than 15 months ago that Hendry was diagnosed with leukemia. He spent several months in hospital and lost 14 kilograms in weight. He also lost the opportunity to take his place in the 2023 Open at Royal Liverpool.

However, thanks to a miraculous recovery, not only did he return to playing competitive golf last October, but he won a tournament in his home country. Less than three months ago he triumphed on the Japan Golf Tour.

More good news had arrived earlier when The R&A confirmed that he’d be granted a medical exemption to participate at Royal Troon.

With rounds of 74 and 78, there may not have been the fairytale ending that he’d have hoped for, but his appearance at Royal Troon has been one of the week’s feel-good stories.

Reflecting on an emotional week in Scotland, Hendry said: “Words can’t really describe how grateful I am, not only to The R&A, but to all of the doctors and nurses who have helped me over the last 12 months.

“This is one thing that really got me through my recovery. To finally be here and teeing it up was extremely special. It was incredible.”

Hendry, who played in the Open Championship in 2017 and 2018, admitted to a bout of the jitters prior to teeing off on Thursday.

He said: “Nervous, like you always are, I suppose, at the beginning of an Open Championship. Also quite emotional.

“Like I said, this was a key to my recovery, knowing that I could play this if I got healthy. So, I dedicated myself as much as I could; did as much as was in my control to get healthy.

“I feel like this week hopefully will draw a line through that part of my life, and I can move on.”

Even during the darkest days of his hospitalisation, Hendry never allowed himself to contemplate the possibility of not returning to golf.

He said: “At no point did I think I wouldn’t play golf again. I’d made my mind up that, even if I was sick, if I was healthy enough to play, I was going to try and play.

“I decided early on in the piece that I was going to try to dictate my life rather than this dictating my life. I had no doubt that I would get back. To the level, I wasn’t sure.

“It was a long road back. I lost a lot of weight and I’m super grateful for my support team and getting me back to at least some kind of physical capabilities to play at a decent level.

“It’s been amazing. I’ve won in Japan not long ago. I was pretty surprised how quickly my game came back to me.

“I’d kept it reasonably quiet early on, but the golfing fraternity is pretty small. Word got round pretty quickly. I just remember the first couple weeks being in hospital, my phone just going berserk with messages from all over the world from people I knew well, people I’d never met within the golfing world, sending messages of well wishes.

“We’re all competitors, but we spend so much time together. At the end of the day, most of us want the best for each other. It really came through when I got sick. It was very humbling.”

Adding further poignancy to his week at Royal Troon, was the fact that Hendry was able to share the experience with his family.

He said: “It was very special. I really hoped I was going to be healthy enough to play so I could bring them over. I’m no spring chicken any more, and we don’t get that many opportunities to get into Major events.

“This could very well be my last British Open. So having a young family, and my girls are now just at the age where they can kind of understand what Dad does, and to have them here and experiencing The Open, which is the biggest, the oldest, the best golf tournament of the lot, I think it gives them a really cool perspective as to what Dad does.”

Ends.