The Mid Amateur Stroke Play Championship

of Great Britain

Venue: Hollinwell (Notts) GC, Nottingham
Dates: Sunday, May 22 (practice day) to Tuesday, May 24, 2016

54-hole stroke-play tournament with the winner being the player returning the lowest 54 hole scratch score played from the championship tees

Entry Requirements

Maximum handicap for this event is 9.4
Field limited to 75 players
A ballot will be used if oversubscribed
Open to male golfers aged 35 years or over on May 22, 2016
Open to players from ALL countries who hold an official, active handicap.
Entry fee is £120 and includes all golf but no food.
Please check entry form for ballot exclusions and FULL conditions of entry.

Event Schedule

Sunday 22 May - Practise from 2.00pm
Monday 23 May - All players complete 36 holes stroke-play
Tuesday 24 May - Leading 32 players will play a further 18 holes

Prizes will be awarded for the leading 5 players and a trophy will also be presented to the winner.

There will also be a dedicated "Tour Truck" offering a full range of services available on Sunday and Monday.

ALSO

Scottish Mid Amateur Stroke Play Championship  Western Gailes Golf Club, Ayrshire  September 28 to 30, 2016 Entry fee £105 Organised by Mid Amateur Tour  MID AMATEUR TOUR WEBSITE: http://www.midamgolf.co.uk/  Frequently Asked Questions Below you will find answers to the most frequently asked questions relating to events run by Mid Amateur Golf and The Mid Amateur Golf Tour. If you have anything you would like to know that is not covered by the information below or on our site then please email us at midamateurgolf@gmail.com Some insight however. We have set up the tour and the events to try and elevate the mid amateur game here in the UK. In America the Mid Amateur scene is thriving with many national events and the winner of their national Mid Amateur championship gets an invite to the Masters!!   We are always open to suggestions - if you tell us where and what you want to play we will look at it. What we don't want to create is just another series of events at mediocre courses that are attended by high handicappers looking for a pay day. Are the events handicap qualifiers? Yes. An official CSS is produced for all of our events and scores are processed through England Golf's CDH system so go straight to your home club using Club Systems 2000 software. If you are a member of a club outside of the CDH system it is your responsibility to inform you club of you scores but we will send details to them via email/post. Do I have to be a member of the tour to enter an event? No. Tour membership gives (in some categories) discounted entry and the chance to win the OOM and qualify for finals day Some of the events are run by Mid Amateur Golf and some are club run. What's the difference? Club run events are exactly that - events run by the host club. These are normally heavily subsidised and all entries etc should be made through the host club. Events that are run by Mid Amateur Golf are hosted by us at the named venue and depending on your membership category may attract certain discounts from the entry fee. What is the format of the events? Most Mid Amateur events are stroke play with gross and nett prizes. They range from 18 to 54 hole events over 1 or 2 days with the exception of the Logan Trophy which is over 3 days. Bandits? No thanks. As all our events are official qualifying for handicap events we do not allow players with inactive handicaps to win any prize. Is there a ballot? Not in most of our events - if you enter and we have spaces then your in! Club run events do operate a ballot system so please check before entering. When do I pay? Options - by PayPal whenever you want to, cheque dated for now (will be cashed), cheque dated for closing date or by bank transfer. How do I enter? Via PayPal on our web site or by downloading the form and sending by post. Can I choose my start time? We try and accommodate people travelling from far away as much as possible. Can I choose my playing partners? No. Pace of play. Our players should know better but inevitably slow play exists - we allow at least 5 hours 20 minutes between rounds and this should be plenty. Some things we can sort, some things we cannot Can I post date my entry fee until the closing date? Yes. Can I pay now? Yes via PayPal, bank transfer or cheque. Are practice rounds included? In some cases yes, but not normally and reduced rates for practise rounds are normally available. Is food included at all events? At most events yes - see individual entry details for confirmation. Will we play off the back/championship/medal tees? Depending on the time of year, weather and course we are playing we will take a view on an individual basis. What if I enter but have to withdraw? If you withdraw before the official closing date you will be eligible for a full refund. If you withdraw after the closing date you will not be entitled to a refund under any circumstances regardless of whether we have a full field or not What about the prizes? Most events offer vouchers for the prizes and these can differ vastly depending on the event. Tournaments run by Mid Amateur Golf generally have a minimum prize fund of £1,000 when we have a full field rising to over £1,500 for certain events. Vouchers can be redeemed through various outlets including your home club What do I actually get for my membership fee? Depending on the type of membership (life or Tour) will determine what you actually get. Tour members and Life members get a discount off events run by the Mid Amateur Golf Tour and also the opportunity of playing in special events (Rye in 2016 and the challenge match in 2015). Members are also entitled to qualify for finals day through the order of merit which is a complimentary 36 holes tournament at a top venue (Moortown in 2014 and Hollinwell in 2015). There is also a members bag tag! So can I play in any of the events without joining the tour? Yes. Can I qualify for finals day if I am not a member though another means?No. Why is there such a difference between MAGT (Mid Amateur Golf Tour) run events and club/county run events? MAGT events are not subsidised by the host club so therefore we pay a fee to play the venue which is reflected in the price. At some events we pay a per player fee and at others a facility fee which is why every event is different. Can you hold events at courses which are cheaper? Yes we could but that would undermine what we are all about which is quality venues. It has and always will be about the golf first. Why does it take so long for my handicap to up-date? This is because clubs and event organisers all use different software and sometimes they do not speak to each other as efficiently as we would all like. Results are processed and sent to the CDH system of the home nation within 24 hours of the event finishing and then it is the responsibility of the players home club to accept “away” scores to up-date the players handicap. It is not a perfect system and will not be until the software is either fully compatible or there is one system, which is unlikely. Why is there such a difference to prizes at the different events? This is down to the individual club or organisers and normally if a reflection on the number of entrants unless the event is sponsored. Why can’t we just have cash prizes? Unfortunately, this is in breach of the rules of Amateur status as laid down by the R and A. How do you get onto the WAGR (World Amateur Golf Ranking)? You need to either win or finish high enough in a qualifying event to achieve WAGR status. Once you have done this you can start accumulating points in WAGR events.

Daly, 50 on Thursday, excited to begin Champions Senior Tour chapter

By Rex Hoggard

AUGUSTA , Georgia – It was quintessential John Daly, hair dishevelled, at least a week removed from his last shave and chain-smoking Marlboros.
Just yards from the controlled chaos that is Washington Road during Masters week and the raucous revelry that is Hooters, JD is at home with the endless precession of guests – some more welcome than others.
“You know how this works, I’m looking for a place to cook some bacon and eggs,” announces comedian Ron White as he enters Daly’s RV (mobile home), undeterred by multiple cameras and an ongoing interview with the two-time major champion.
Later that afternoon the crowds would come, they always do to get a glimpse of one of the game’s most iconoclastic players. They want autographs. By Tuesday of Masters week, Daly estimates he’s signed close to 5,000 items for fans.
“Somebody bought our merchandise banner for $300 and had him sign it,” says Anna Cladakis, Daly’s fiancée, sometimes-caddie and retail manager since 2007.
They buy Daly’s line of shirts, hats and head covers from sunrise to well past the nightcap hour, but this is more than just sports hero worship. His fans have been with JD through every peak and valley, vicariously celebrating his successes and enduring his many missteps every step of the way.
They want a piece of Daly, warts and all, like one fan who asked Cladakis for a specific signature.
“He said to sign it, ‘Bay Hill 18,’” she says. “I’m not sure what that means.”
The reference is to Daly’s misadventure on the sixth hole during the final round of the 1998 Bay Hill Invitational when he deposited six golf balls into a lake and signed for an 18 on the hole.
Daly signs the hat as requested, adding a “2” to the autograph.
“I made a birdie [2] on the next hole,” he says with a wink.

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The buzz around Daly’s RV is nonstop for eight consecutive days and, true to his man-of-the-people persona, he embraces every rowdy minute.
“Guys will roll out [of the Hooters] at 2 a.m., yelling for autographs,” Daly smiles.
Daly could limit his time among the masses. He could stay in a hotel and adhere to a more structured schedule, but that’s not JD’s style.
Daly’s RV is his home, a rolling condo with multiple TVs, a king-sized bed, shower and, yes, even a stove to cook White his bacon and eggs.
“I relate to the fans,” Daly says. “You know I’ve made them happy and I’ve pissed them off a lot, but they’ve been good to me all over the world.”
Throughout the rollercoaster that has been Daly’s life, the major championships, stardom, multiple divorces, injuries and gambling, it has been the fans – not the media and certainly not the PGA Tour – that has never left his side.
Daly figures it’s the way he’s lived his eventful life that has kept his fans loyal, the brutal honesty he’s displayed under the most unforgiving spotlight. Others say it’s JD’s flaws that have earned him unwavering support from the masses.
Whatever the reason, a dozen years removed from his last Tour title Daly, and his “lions head” brand, remains one of the most popular players in golf, which makes this time something of a seminal moment for both Daly and the PGA Tour Champions.
Daly turns 50 on April 28 and will make his debut on the over-50 circuit at next week’s Insperity Invitational in Texas.
“Two years ago, when I took this job, I was stunned at how many players were excited about John coming out,” said Greg McLaughlin, the PGA Tour Champions president. “They feel John will be good for the tour, and what’s good for the tour is good for all involved.”
Every player views the Champions circuit as a golden parachute, but for Daly 2.0 it’s the ultimate mulligan.
“The camaraderie is going to be great,” Daly said. “The guys are still great, they’re competitive as hell and we still think we want to win. We challenge ourselves every day no matter how old we get.”
In many ways, Daly is viewing this next chapter in a tome that at times has read like a Hunter S. Thompson fiction novel much like he viewed his early years on Tour in the 1990s when he was just “an old redneck, blue-collar boy winning the British Open.”
Although his hair is still golden blonde, the stubble on his face gives away his years of hard living. Even in his RV adjacent the Washington Road Hooters, Daly seems somehow more subdued than he was in the early 1990s.
He’s cut back on gambling, although in true Daly style he admits it’s more an acknowledgment of his diminished cash flow in recent years than a desire to separate himself from his rough-and-tumble past.

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Don’t confuse necessity with maturity, however.
“I’ll never grow up,” Daly concedes when asked the difference between 25-year-old JD and the 50-year-old version. “I’m probably going to end up throwing clubs on the Champions Tour, I’m still gonna be me. There’s no telling what sort of things I can do, but all I know is I’m enjoying life right now and my kids are healthy and things are pretty good.”
There were certainly flashes of that familiar Daly fury at last year’s PGA Championship when he deposited three balls into Lake Michigan while playing the par-3 seventh hole during the second round and sent the offending iron into the azure-colored abyss moments later.
Compared with previous meltdowns, the difference now is that those types of outburst aren’t followed by a hasty exit.
“I probably would have waited until the ninth hole when I got close to the clubhouse, but it doesn’t cross my mind like it used to back in days,” he admits.
Maybe it’s aging; maybe it’s fatherhood that has softened Daly’s rough edges in recent years.
During an extended interview, Daly’s mood darkens slightly when asked if he has any regrets. There are no shortage of vices to chose from, including gambling (in his 2006 autobiography “My Life In and Out of the Rough” he wrote that he owed $4 million in gambling debts when he arrived at the 1995 Open Championship, which he won) and hard drinking.
But for Daly his primary mea culpa is leading by explosive example.
“The funny thing is I see it in my son,” Daly says. “He’s 12 and what can I say if he’s not playing good? He likes to throw clubs, but how can I give him advice?
“'Don’t be like dad,’ and he sees me whipping one at the PGA. He just laughs about it and I say that’s not good. I shouldn’t have done that but it’s the mentality of how we played.”
Daly also concedes his son, John Jr., who is attending the Core Golf Academy in Orlando, Fla., inherited his dad’s interest in the occasional wager on the golf course, which has also led to some awkward conversations.
But overall his son’s interest in the family business has given Daly a renewed sense of energy. Getting to play alongside “Little John” at the PNC Father-Son Challenge in December is one of the things Daly is looking forward to the most this year, along with a full schedule of tournaments for the first time since 2014.
Although he still plans the occasional cameo on the US PGA Tour – including his annual starts at the PGA Championship and Open Championship – it’s joining his friends and contemporaries on the Champions circuit that has inspired Daly again.
It’s made golf fun again, and that hasn’t been the case in a long time.
“It turns into a job when you’re playing bad,” he says. “There were times I wanted to throw in the towel and quit, but my mom talked me out of probably the most depressed I ever was in the game before she passed away. She said, ‘Well, what else are you going to do, son?’”
Some five years after that pep talk from his mother, Lou, who died in November 2011, Daly’s renewed sense of competitive hope is undeniable, both in the five-time Tour winner and in the fans who largely have never given up on their flawed hero.

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For all of his off-course troubles, Daly remains one of the game’s most unique talents. Last year in limited Tour starts he ranked 25^th in driving distance with a 300-yard average, and fellow professionals will still stop and watch in awe if he’s working on a practice range.
It may have been his very real life off-course issues that kept his fans loyal, but it was his unique talents – effortless power coupled with reckless abandon – that drew them to him in the first place.
Daly explains that unlike when he broke onto the Tour in 1991 there are now at least a dozen players who can do what he does with the golf ball, but his home-made golf swing and freakish power still captivate even the game’s most accomplished players.
It was during the 2004 Target World Challenge and Daly had just completed the Wednesday pro-am with some friends and was in the clubhouse drinking and telling stories when Tiger Woods walked into the room.
“Tiger’s there in his workout clothes and I said, ‘Tiger come have a beer with us, man,’” Daly recalls.
Woods declined, explaining that he was bound for the gym and one of his ubiquitous workout sessions. Daly persisted, “I go, ‘Man, you don’t need to work out. You need to drink a little bit with us.’”
Woods’ answer is the stuff of legend.
“He said, ‘If I had your talent I’d be doing the same thing you’re doing,’” Daly says. “I’m looking at him thinking 'you’re crazy, man.'”
Some will contend Daly largely wasted that talent with his addictions, but the newly minted senior dismisses that type of armchair psychology with a shrug.
After a life fully lived he’s realized regret is a luxury he doesn’t have time for; there are still thousands of autographs to sign, a new career on a new tour and Ron White is waiting for his bacon and eggs.

With 100 days to go, a look at the Olympic 

Games golf field

By Nick Menta

We're 100 days away from golf's return to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. With a little more than three months to go, we offer this look at the how the men's Olympic field would shape up if qualifying were to end today.
As a reminder, the 60-man field is not a collection of the 60 best players in the world. Instead, competing countries can send up to two representatives. As many as four players could represent a given country if they are all ranked inside the Official World Golf Ranking's top 15. 
 The United States is currently the only country with more than two representatives, maxing out its full allotment.
The qualifying deadline is set for July 11. As of now, 34 countries will be respresented in men's golf, with players ranging from world No. 1 Jason Day to No. 369 Gavin Kyle Green.

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Australia
Projected in: No. 1 Jason Day, No. 35 Marc Leishman
Sitting out: No. 7 Adam Scott
Day is a shoo-in and Leishman now finds himself in the field thanks to Scott, who has opted to withdraw himself from Olympic consideration.

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United States
Projected in: No. 2 Jordan Spieth, No. 4 Bubba Watson, No. 5 Rickie Fowler, No. 8 Dustin Johnson
Odd man out: No. 12 Patrick Reed
Only the Americans are currently projected to get the maximum four representatives in the field. Reed is the closest to cracking the U.S. team, but 12 more Americans are currently inside the top 30 and could make a push with a big summer.

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Ireland
Projected in: No. 3 Rory McIlroy, No. 33 Shane Lowry
Odd man out: No. 72 Graeme McDowell
McIlroy made headlines last year when he opted to represent Ireland and not Great Britain as part of Northern Ireland. As for McDowell, he’s more concerned with the Ryder Cup than Rio.

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Sweden
Projected in: No. 6 Henrik Stenson, No. 48 David Lingmerth
Odd man out: No. 82 Kristoffer Broberg
Lingmerth is enjoying the fruits of his 2015 Memorial win, leaving Broberg, last year’s BMW Masters champ, with some work to do.

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Great Britain
Projected in: No. 9 Danny Willett, No. 10 Justin Rose
Odd man out: No. 23 Paul Casey
If Casey can crack the OWGR’s top 15 by the deadline, he can earn GBR a third entry. The same goes for No. 30 Russell Knox, No. 32 Andy Sullivan, No. 36 Lee Westwood and No. 41 Matthew Fitzpatrick.

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South Africa
Projected in: No. 11 Branden Grace, No. 59 Jaco Van Zyl
Sitting out: No. 13 Louis Oosthuizen, No. 20 Charl Schwartzel
Van Zyl suddenly finds himself in the Olympic mix after two of his fellow countrymen said they wouldn’t accept a bid.

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Japan
Projected in: No. 14 Hideki Matsuyama, No. 79 Yuta Ikeda
Odd man out: No. 81 Shingo Katayama
American fans know Matusyama but are less familiar with Ikeda, a 14-time Japan Golf Tour winner who passed Katayama with a victory this past weekend at the Panasonic Open.

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Spain
Projected in: No. 15 Sergio Garcia, No. 29 Rafa Cabrera Bello
Potential alternate Miguel Angel Jimenez has said he won’t play. Should Garcia or Cabrera Bello opt not to, No. 136 Alejandro Canizares is next in line.

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South Korea
Projected in: No. 31 Ben An, No. 60 K.T. Kim
Odd man out: No. 75 Soomin Lee
Lee vaulted from 128^th to 75^th thanks to his first European Tour victory this past weekend at the Shenzhen International in China.

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Denmark
Projected in: No. 38 Soren Kjeldsen, No. 68 Thorbjorn Olesen
Odd man out: No. 134 Lucas Bjerregaard
Kjeldsen won the Irish Open last year and finished T-7 at the Masters earlier this month. Olesen has been a winner on the European Tour in three of the last four years.

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Argentina
Projected in: No. 39 Emiliano Grillo, No. 65 Fabian Gomez
Grillo won the Frys.com Open last fall and Gomez the FedEx St. Jude last season. Next in line for Argentina? Two-time major champion Angel Cabrera at No. 305.

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Thailand
Projected in: No. 40 Kiradech Aphibarnrat, No. 45 Thongchai Jaidee
Odd man out: Prayad Marksaeng
Aphibarnrat won twice on the European Tour last year. Jaidee has 16 career wins spread across the European and Asian tours and represented Thailand at the Presidents Cup last fall.

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New Zealand
Projected in: No. 42 Danny Lee, No. 169 Ryan Fox
Odd man out: No. 271 Josh Geary
Lee has a victory, a runner-up, a third and six more top-10s in the last two US PGA Tour seasons. Fox is a three-time winner on the Challenge and Australasia tours.

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Austria
Projected in: No. 43 Bernd Wiesberger
The first country on the list with only one representative, Wiesberger won the French Open last summer and was in the weekend mix at the PGA Championship at Valhalla in 2014.

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France
Projected in: No. 52 Victor Dubuisson, No. 100 Alexander Levy
Odd man out: No. 147 Gregory Bourdy
Dubuisson had a breakout year in 2014, finishing runner-up at the WGC-Match Play and making the Ryder Cup. After a difficult 2015, he re-emerged in November, winning his second Turkish Airlines Open. Levy won twice on the European Tour in 2014.

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India
Projected in: No. 53 Anirban Lahiri, No. 160 S.S.P. Chawrasia
Lahiri won twice on the European Tour last year, won the Long Drive Contest at the PGA Championship and represented India at the Presidents Cup. Chawrasia won his third Euro title this March at the Hero Indian Open, beating the defending champ Lahiri in a playoff.

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Germany
Projected in: No. 55 Martin Kaymer, No. 145 Alex Cejka
Odd man out: No. 190 Marcel Siem
Two-time major winner and former world No. 1 Kaymer has swooned since his triumph at Pinehurst. At 44, Cejka finally won his first US PGA Tour title last year at the Puerto Rico Open.

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Netherlands
Projected in: No. 61 Joost Luiten
A four-time European Tour champ, Luiten is currently the Netherlands’ lone representative.

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Belgium
Projected in: No. 62 Thomas Pieters, No. 266 Nicolas Colsaerts
Pieters won twice on the European Tour late last summer and is fighting for a spot in this fall’s Ryder Cup. Colsearts, a former Ryder Cupper, hasn’t won since 2012.

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Italy
Projected in: No. 86 Francesco Molinari
A two-time member of European Ryder Cup team, Molinari last won the 2012 Spanish Open. He finished tied for third last year at the Memorial, two shots out of a playoff.

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Portugal
Projected in: No. 95 Ricardo Gouveia
The former UCF Knight won twice on the Challenge Tour last year.

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Philippines
Projected in: No. 113 Miguel Tabuena, No. 254 Angelo Que
Tabuena won his national open last year on the Asian Tour and has won eight more times in his home country. Que is a three-time Asian Tour winner who recorded two runner-ups on the Japanese Tour last year and a T-4 at this year’s Indian Open.

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Canada
Projected in: No. 119 Graham DeLaet, No. 142 David Hearn
Odd man out: No. 185 Adam Hadwin
Hearn made a run at his own national open last year while DeLaet has become noteworthy for a number of close calls and a bushy beard. Hadwin was the Web.com Tour’s money leader in 2014.

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China
Projected in: No. 174 W C Liang, No. 196 Wu Ashun
Odd man out: No. 237 Haotong Li
Liang won on the Japanese Tour last year and finished in the top 10 at the US PGA Championship in 2010 at Whistling Straits, shooting a then-course record 8-under 64 in the third round. Ashun won last year’s Volvo China Open. Li won four times in China in 2014 and was T-7 at last year’s WGC-HSBC Champions.

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Finland
Projected in: No. 189 Mikko Ilonen, No. 265 Roope Kakko
Odd man out: No. 334 Mikko Korhonen
Ilonen rode a hot streak in the summer of 2014, sandwiching a tie for seventh at the US PGA Championship with two European Tour wins. Kakko won the months-delayed Madeira Islands Open last August.

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Kenny Dalglish bidding four fourth win at La 

 

Manga's Footballers' Golf Classic

LA MANGA CLUB NEWS RELEASE

Liverpool, Celtic and Scotland legend Kenny Dalglish will be one of a host of former champions who will take to the famous fairways of Spain’s La Manga Club to contest the 20th edition of the popular Footballers’ Golf Classic this summer.

Single-figure handicapper Dalglish has won the title three times at the award-winning Murcian resort but faces one of the strongest challenges ever in the competition’s history if he is to lift the trophy again when the event, sponsored by John Griffin, takes place from June 4-9.

Among the field targeting further success at La Manga Club will be previous double winners, former Aston Villa and Scotland striker turned Sky Sports commentator Alan McInally and ex-Millwall and Wales striker Steve Lovell, chasing his third victory in the last six years.

Defending champion Kenny Hibbitt – who won at the 13th time of asking last year – Pat Jennings, Russell Osman and Fraser McLachlan will also be aiming for more glory, while the likes of former Arsenal, Juventus and Republic of Ireland star Liam Brady and ex-England internationals Darius Vassell, Mark Wright, Ray Clemence, Dave Beasant and Kevin Davies – making his debut – are also set to feature.

The desire for UK golfers to visit La Manga Club has proved as strong as ever this year with all 45 team places for the 2016 event selling out nine months before it is staged on the resort’s renowned South and North courses.

The golf classic will feature four days of competitive golf: the one-day Alan Ball Trophy and the three-day main event, which is being personally sponsored by John Griffin, former chairman of previous sponsors Addison Lee and who has played in the event every year, with competitors playing in teams of three alongside a different footballer each day.

Entry includes five nights in the resort’s five-star Hotel Principe Felipe, breakfast, welcome and gala dinners and prize-giving with entertainment.

A five-time host of the Spanish Open and set in an area three times the size of Monaco, La Manga Club boasts three 18-hole courses, a nine-hole academy course and outstanding practice amenities – including mainland Spain’s only Leadbetter Golf Academy – amongst its array of five-star sports and leisure facilities.

Among its recent accolades, La Manga Club was named ‘Spain’s Best Golf Hotel’ for the second year running at the 2015 World Golf Awards, shortlisted at the 2015 Family Traveller Awards and voted ‘Best Golf Resort in Spain’ by UK readers of Today’s Golfer magazine for the fifth year running.

As well as golf, the resort’s extensive facilities also include a 28-court tennis academy, a High Performance Sports Centre and 2,000m² spa and fitness complex, a five-star hotel, four-star serviced apartments and townhouses and more than 20 bars and restaurants.

For further information about the Footballers’ Golf Classic, visit www.mancinievents.co.uk

For more details on La Manga Club, go to www.lamangaclub.com.

Jason Bohn (Getty Images)

Jason Bohn’s heart attack may have saved mother’s life

GOLFWEEK.COM

By Adam Schupak

AVONDALE, Louisiana – You may have heard the story that Jason Bohn is lucky to be alive.
 Turns out, so is his mother!
The 42-year-old two-time US PGA Tour winner complained of chest pains after his second round of the Honda Classic on Feb. 26. Little did he know that his left anterior descending artery – often referred to as “the widow maker” – was 99 percent blocked.
 After recuperating at home from heart bypass surgery  and taking in his kids’ games, he returned to competition two weeks ago at the RBC Heritage.
Speaking Tuesday  ahead of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Bohn shared how the story has taken another twist. After his heart attack, Bohn said that his 72-year-old seemingly healthy mother, Carol, went in for a stress test on April 14, and she ended up requiring triple-bypass surgery four days later.
“If (my heart attack indirectly) saved my mother’s life, it would be probably the greatest thing that could ever happen to me,” Bohn said. “She’s doing well. She’s recovering back home now.”
As for Bohn, he already had made some lifestyle changes, including hour-long cardio work-outs three times a week and eating a low-sodium diet, although he did devour a bunch of ribs to celebrate his 43rd birthday on Sunday.
Bohn also applied for and received a temporary use exemption from the Tour to take a betablocker to regulate his heartbeat.
The one extra precaution he has to take now is a doozy.
“The only thing the doctor said I cannot do is ride a roller coaster,” Bohn said. “I was kind of worried because I love amusement parks, and I said, ‘Is this going to be for life?’ And he said, ‘No.’ But right now, they just – I’ve got to watch my blood pressure. They don’t want it dropping too much, and I guess roller coasters can do that.”
His first tournament back was a roller coaster of emotions. “I kind of told my caddie, I don’t know where my game is. We’re just going to have some fun. We’re going to have a lot of laughs. We’re going to enjoy it, and on Saturday I was cussing the game already,” said Bohn, who made the cut at the RBC Heritage and tied for 69th.
“So I was kind of like, Wait a second. I thought it would take more than three days for me to cuss the game.”
Bohn counts the Zurich Classic as the most recent of his two Tour titles. That was back in 2010, but he said he still remembers every shot, and his goose bumps had goose bumps as he entered the main drive of TPC Louisiana for the first time this week. In an effort to recapture the magic from his triumph, Bohn is trying to duplicate his past routine – everything from staying in the same hotel to practising at the same time to eating the same foods.
“When I won, I started with a dozen char-grilled oysters before dinner,” he said. “I can’t eat a dozen every night now, but I will have some.”