INJURY BLOW FOR MICHAEL SIM
Rising Aberdonian-Aussie star must rest for two months with back injury

EXCLUSIVE By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Aberdonian Michael Sim, pictured right, will miss the whole of the Australasian PGA Tour – played over our winter but their summer Down Under – with a recurring back injury.
An MRI scan has revealed a postural problem related to the tilt of his pelvic bone.
Under medical advice, he will rest for the next two months.
The 22-year-old should be fit and ready to make his debut on the US PGA Tour after that.
Sim, in his rookie year as a pro after a stellar career as an amateur, finished in the top 20 of the Nationwide Tour, America’s No 2 pro circuit and automatically gained playing rights next year on the main tour.
Michael felt the injury coming on in the closing months of his first campaign in the United States. He withdrew from last weekend’s Australian Open and now medical tests have diagnosed the back problem.
“I’ll be back home in Perth (Western Australia) to work on my back but it could have been worse had I been forced to take time off in the middle of the season in the United States,” said Michael.
“The only problem I have is trying to retain my Australasian Tour card, having just played three instead of the required four tournaments.”
But he is confident he will be given a medical exemption by the tour authorities.
Sim, who was ranked the No 1 amateur in the world following a string of tournament wins in Australia and New Zealand, before he turned pro, has been voted the rookie of the year by the Australian Golf Writers’ Association and the Australian Golf Digest Magazine also name him their rookie professional of the year.
Michael’s parents, George and Sue Sim, decided to emigrate from Aberdeen to Australia in April 1991, when Michael was six years old.