Heart woes fail to deter Beljan
Source: Agencies |
November 11, 2012, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
CHARLIE Beljan thought he was only fighting for his PGA Tour card in the final event at Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
As he struggled to take a breath over five frightening hours on Friday, with paramedics following him along the back nine when they were alarmed by his blood pressure, there were times when Beljan wondered if he was fighting for something far more important.
"He kept saying he thought he was going to die," caddie Rick Adcox said.
Beljan, a 28-year-old tour rookie, knew something was wrong on the practice range when he got ready for his second round, and he asked his caddie to find a doctor. Heading over to the Palm Course, he ripped a long iron onto the green at the par-5 opening hole and when Adcox handed him his putter, Beljan told him he didn't feel good.
Considering the circumstances, the score was remarkable.
Despite straining to take a breath, kneeling with his head bowed before it was his turn to putt, even sitting down in the fairway to rest, Beljan made two eagles on his way to an 8-under 64 that gave him a three-shot lead going into the weekend at the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic.
Now it's a matter of Beljan playing the final two rounds, critical to his career because he is No. 139 on the money list. Only the top 125 have full status for the following season, and Beljan likely would need to finish around 10th.
A surreal, sometimes scary afternoon across the Magic Kingdom ended with Beljan making a superb pitch to save par for his 64, going into a hotel room to sign his card and then leaving on a stretcher that wheeled him to an ambulance parked not far from the 18th green.
His agent, Andy Dawson, sent a text message to the PGA Tour from Celebration Hospital that Beljan was waiting on tests but still planned to play the third round. The tour said Beljan complained of an elevated heart rate, shortness of breath and heart palpitations.
As he struggled to take a breath over five frightening hours on Friday, with paramedics following him along the back nine when they were alarmed by his blood pressure, there were times when Beljan wondered if he was fighting for something far more important.
"He kept saying he thought he was going to die," caddie Rick Adcox said.
Beljan, a 28-year-old tour rookie, knew something was wrong on the practice range when he got ready for his second round, and he asked his caddie to find a doctor. Heading over to the Palm Course, he ripped a long iron onto the green at the par-5 opening hole and when Adcox handed him his putter, Beljan told him he didn't feel good.
Considering the circumstances, the score was remarkable.
Despite straining to take a breath, kneeling with his head bowed before it was his turn to putt, even sitting down in the fairway to rest, Beljan made two eagles on his way to an 8-under 64 that gave him a three-shot lead going into the weekend at the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic.
Now it's a matter of Beljan playing the final two rounds, critical to his career because he is No. 139 on the money list. Only the top 125 have full status for the following season, and Beljan likely would need to finish around 10th.
A surreal, sometimes scary afternoon across the Magic Kingdom ended with Beljan making a superb pitch to save par for his 64, going into a hotel room to sign his card and then leaving on a stretcher that wheeled him to an ambulance parked not far from the 18th green.
His agent, Andy Dawson, sent a text message to the PGA Tour from Celebration Hospital that Beljan was waiting on tests but still planned to play the third round. The tour said Beljan complained of an elevated heart rate, shortness of breath and heart palpitations.
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