Immelman almost back to normal after mysterious illness  PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- First, he ate toast, and little else. Then he fasted for three days before going on what was essentially a rice diet. No, Trevor Immelman was not trying to drop a few pounds. At 5-foot-9 and a taut, tanned 178 pounds -- at least when this odyssey began -- the young South African didn't have a lot to lose in the first place.  Trevor Immelman has had a rough month, battling a nasty illness. (Greenwood/WireImage)
But a mysterious stomach ailment that sent him to the hospital twice in the last month robbed Immelman of 22 pounds of his fighting weight. That's one reason why the round of 68 he fired Thursday at the Wachovia Championship was so impressive. Immelman hadn't played in a tournament since the Masters where he first fell ill. He "pretty much slept in the restroom" that Tuesday night and went to the hospital the next morning with a high fever that left him shivering and shaking. Immelman spent the better part of the day in the hospital as doctors worked to get fluids back into his body. He was in the last group on Thursday, so he had a little time to recover and Immelman went on to finish in a tie for 55th at Augusta National. The persistent nausea returned on Monday at Hilton Head, though. Antibiotics failed to stem the tide, so he decided to withdraw and go home to Orlando. This time, he had about four or five good days before the illness came back with a vengeance. "It came back worse than I had ever had it," Immelman recalled. "At that point I started throwing up, as well." He also started to get worried. Immelman went to see a specialist in Orlando who prescribed the fast to give his stomach a break, followed by several days of simply eating rice and then Immelman's current lactose-free diet. Immelman says he started "feeling like myself" about eight days ago. The doctors still aren't quite sure what was wrong but expect he picked up a parasite that was followed by a stomach infection. The 28-year-old South African picked up a golf club for the first time since the Masters last Wednesday. So he didn't know quite what to expect when he got to Quail Hollow for the Wachovia Championship, where he lost in a playoff last year. On another day at another tournament, bogeys on two of his first three holes might have frustrated Immelman. Not Thursday. Not after what he'd just been through over the last month. "I was just trying to tell myself to be patient with myself and made a couple bogeys to start," Immelman said. "At that point mentally I stayed very calm because I said to myself, look, how much do you actually expect right now? Just take it easy and try and hit one good shot after another and let's see where we go. "And then I started rolling a few putts in and I really started playing solidly." Seven more birdies, and just one bogey, followed -- including a 7-iron to 5 feet on the difficult 18th that moved Immelman to 4 under. He trails Padraig Harrington by two strokes entering Friday's second round, as a result. "That was probably the highlight of the day for me," Immelman said of that closing birdie. Immelman doesn't feel like he's lost any distance with his driver, but has noticed a difference with his irons. He normally doesn't lift weights while he's playing, but is putting them back in his workout regime right now to rebuild the muscle he lost.
"I kind of feel like I'm at base camp again and have to work my way back up," said Immelman, who has gained two pounds since he started feeling better and estimates he's got 75 percent of his strength back. "It took me three years to get from 155 to 178, and my goal had always been 180. It's incredible, I can lose three years of work in three weeks. It kind of (ticks) me off. You know, I'm just going to have to start again." Immelman certainly wouldn't mind starting where he left off last year at Quail Hollow, though. His playoff loss to Jim Furyk was the first of two straight second-place finishes and five events later, Immelman picked up his first PGA TOUR win. "I was really looking forward to this week," Immelman admitted. "You know, we came here and the golf course really is playing very difficult. It's set up just like a major. So you've got to be on your game. "Like I said, I didn't really know what to expect from myself having not competed for four weeks, but there definitely are some good vibes for me around here. I love this golf course, I love the area and once I started rolling a few putts in and started making some birdies and got under par, I started feeling comfortable." |
