Date: June 29, 2015
Author: Rob Grant

Day’s vertigo like being drunk says Leaney

Veteran Australian pro Stephen Leaney, who suffered from the vertigo which badly affected Jason Day recently, says the condition is like trying to play golf drunk.

And he has urged Day to look into ways which he says cured his illness, which put an end to his touring life in the US in 2009. 

Day collapsed on the green during the recent US Open after the second round at Chambers Bay but managed to rebound with a 68 on the third Day to boost him into a share of the lead.

Ultimately he slipped to a share of ninth in the end as he fought to control the problem.

Day then withdrew from the following Travelers Championship.

Leaney was runner-up in the 2003 US Open and had 13 wins around the world, including four in Europe and two Victorian Open titles.

He was full of praise for Day's courageous performance, knowing the symptoms he was forced to battle.

“It’s amazing that he could even keep playing,” Leaney told News Corporation.

“The best way for me to describe it is, it’s like trying to play golf when you’re drunk. You can’t ever get yourself in a position where you’re balanced and focused enough to hit a golf shot.

“I did notice he was holding his yardage book up high in front of his face to stop himself from looking down.

“I’m not surprised that he ran out of gas in the end. For starters it’s a US Open, so that’s hard enough.

“It takes all your focus and concentration just to get around there anyway, but to feel like you’re constantly off balance and to shoot the scores he did, it’s quite remarkable, really.”

Leaney had been competing on the US Tour for seven years but was hit so badly by vertigo six years ago he had to quit. 

The West Australian, who is now based in Adelaide, had the usual medical examinations, including CAT scans, MRIs, blood tests and medication over an 18-month period but it was his own research which he said eventually led to a cure.

Leaney looked into alternative options and decided to eliminate dairy and red meat from his diet after discovering they caused the allergy which in turn led to his vertigo.

He said he was back fully fit after six weeks following the changes and has not suffered the symptoms in the five years since.

“The hardest part is to get the diagnosis, because there’s so many different forms of vertigo,” he said.

“Once you find that out, you can start working on fixing it. That’s where I was lucky to find out about dairy."

Leaney has encouraged Day to explore all the alternatives in an attempt to pin down what form of vertigo he has.

“I doubt the medication would solve the problems for him. He would be on those now and they seem to wear off," he said.

“Hopefully it doesn’t affect him for too much longer because, I can tell you, it’s not fun.”