Australian Amateur Champion Cameron Davis’ dream of major tournament experience during this upcoming summer has come to a sudden and painful end.
An attempt to hit a shot over a grass shrub during the Mona Vale Medal on October 10 has gone horribly wrong, trashing Davis’ summer plans.
“It was a bit of a tricky shot.” says Davis. “I was trying to hit a soft flop shot over a bush by cutting under it with my wrists a bit."
“When I played the shot, the club head got stuck and my arms just stopped like I was hitting a brick wall. I knew it was a bad injury straight away.”
Davis had only just arrived home after the disappointment of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Hong Kong, where the cancellation of the final round had left him stranded a shot away from a coveted invitation to Augusta for the Masters.
The impact of the injury and the tournaments he will miss isn't lost on Davis. He was hoping for some good results.
“I was going to play the Nomura Cup in Abu Dhabi, the NSW Open Golf Championship, the Australian Masters, The Emirates Australian Open, and the Thailand Golf Championship, which is a qualifying tournament for the British Open.”
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“Everything is kind of off the list now though.”
After an MRI and a specialist medical assessment, Davis was told he had ruptured the sheath around the ECU ligament in his left wrist. The injury required an operation, possibly putting him out of golf for up to six months.
The surgery took place last Monday in Melbourne and Davis is now recovering at home.
“The arm’s going pretty good. I’ve already got the cast off and all I need to do now is keep it moving..” says Davis. “I should be back putting in about a week.”
Davis intends to give the injury every chance of healing completely and won’t be rushing back into full practice too early.
“If I do everything properly, I might be back in three months, but I don’t know if that will be playing competitive golf or just making full swings.”
“I really want to make sure everything is 100 per cent and I've got my game back to a good state before I start playing and competing in tournaments again.”
Davis rates his chances of defending his 2015 Australian Amateur title as very slim. He’s upbeat about his recovery however and planning ahead for 2016. Improving his short game is a priority.
“It’s the piece of my game that’s been holding me back a little bit, along with maybe my driving, but I think I’ll be hitting it straighter now if I'm not hitting it quite as hard.”
The injury isn't dampening Davis’ resolve. He’s determined to return to competition stronger for the experience.
“I think it’s going to be good for me in the whole scheme of things, I’ll be looking for some better scores and I can’t wait to get a few more wins on the board,” Davis says with a smile.