Christian faces back pain but hasn't lost sense of humor

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Gary Christian has made thousands of trips to the chiropractor, but none as unusual and desperate as the mad dash he made Thursday during -- yes, during -- the first round of the inaugural Nationwide Tour Players Cup at Pete Dye Golf Club in West Virginia.

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Gary Christian had to get medicial attention during the Nationwide Tour Players Cup for his back.

Christian's 2008 Results

Tournament Position Panama Movistar Championship CUT Mexico Open Presented by Corona 62 Chitimacha Louisiana Open Pres'd by Dynamic Industries T22 Livermore Valley Wine Country Championship at Wente Vineyards T24 Athens Regional Foundation Classic CUT Henrico County Open T17 South Georgia Classic T45 BMW Charity Pro-Am T24 Melwood Prince George's County Open T7 Bank of America Open CUT Knoxville Open Presented by Food City CUT Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic Presented by Samsung T34 Nationwide Tour Players Cup T43

Christian sought and received permission from a Nationwide Tour official to make a pit stop in the clubhouse between nines, where the healing hands of Dr. Scott K. Romesburg Jr. awaited to apply a quick adjustment to the L3, L4 and L5 region in Christian's aching lower back.

"Without the treatment I would have been forced to withdraw,'' said Christian, who actually toyed with the idea of pulling out Wednesday evening and again prior to tee off when the pain flared.

But Christian, playing at the Pete Dye Club for the third consecutive season, knew he could put his faith in Romesburg, who had worked on him prior to and during his previous visits to West Virginia as well as Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. So Christian bravely soldiered on, walking slowly and carefully over hills and valleys of this tilting and rolling track.

The good news was Christian survived 72 holes. The bad news was his game went into reverse in the final round when the pain became acute.

"I was trying not to keel over,'' said Christian, who closed with a three-over-par 75 and finish in a tie for 43rd in the Nationwide Tour's first event to offer a $1 million purse when a good payday was a probability with an under-par round.

Christian's check for $4,100 barely paid his weekly expenses as he slipped two spots to 65th on the all-important money list. But neither the result nor a rigorous schedule in the next 24 hours could drag the chipper Englishman down. He was headed to Pittsburgh Sunday evening and then to Toledo where he was scheduled to play in a pro-am Monday. Then he was going to drive to Detroit, fly to Atlanta and drive to Nashville to meet his family, wife Kimberly and sons Nicholas and Alex.

"I'll probably be 5-foot-2 by the time I get to Tennessee,'' joked the 5-foot-8 Christian, an engaging and devilish chap who loves gardening and once appeared on the TV show, "The Weakest Link,'' which had nothing to do with his spine.

That's Christian, constantly poking light-hearted fun at himself and his pursuit of perfection in a game measured more in misses than dead-solid-perfect shots. It's all about the journey according to Christian and his has been, well, rather unusual.

Christian, 36, grew up in Carshalton, England, where he fiddled with golf but never had the time to play more than twice a week because he took a full-time job as a pension administrator right out of high school. Suffice to say, Christian didn't care for that particular line of work.

"It was horrible,'' he said. "I figured out a way to clock in on my floor, clock out on another and go to the pub for two hours. I'd return about two pints and fiddle with the papers on my desk.''

Christian heard about tryouts for scholarships to American colleges that was a glorified golf tournament. He took a shot and landed a scholarship -- to Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, Ala. It was an eye-opening experience for Christian, who watched the movie "Mississippi Burning'' to prepare for life in the Deep South.

Talk about an eye-opener. It was 110 degrees when Christian arrived in northern Alabama. He was without a car so he decided to walk about a mile-and-a-half down a dirt road to convenience store in hot pursuit of a few cold ones.

When he arrived, a sweat-stained Christian asked the clerk where he could find the nearest beer. He was told he was in a dry county.

"I couldn't figure out what the weather had to do with beer,'' Christian said, laughing at the memory. "So I said, 'Yeah it has been hot recently,' and I asked again for beer. I got the same answer. Thankfully the clerk explained 'dry county' to me.''

Christian's education continued when he was asked how long it took him to drive from London and once, when he inquired if someone was familiar with England, he was told that was the place where people speak French.

Fortunately just about everyone spoke a little golf. Christian blossomed, winning "six or seven'' times while becoming a Juco All American. He accepted a scholarship to Auburn, where he was All-SEC as a junior, but fizzled as a senior. Christian was fortunate to meet a family who invited him to live with them for a while following graduation. A while lasted five years.

"I'm like a bad smell,'' he said. "You can't get rid of me.''

The Frawley family also allowed Christian to play golf at their club, where he said the club manager, Dexter Scott, "took a shine'' to him. Scott offered Christian a job as membership director when his visa was about to expire, so Christian entertained prospects on the golf course and played golf with members during down time.

One thing led to another. Soon several members approached Christian with an offer to sponsor him. So off he went to the Tear Drop Tour. He performed well enough on the mini-tours, but PGA TOUR Qualifying School was a different animal, one that mauled him practically every year at second stage, leaving him with no status.

"It was a huge hump for me to get over,'' said Christian, who played the Nationwide Tour in 1999 with very little success. "There was so much pressure and I didn't play well enough under the ultimate conditions.

"That probably was the best thing for me. I could perfect my craft and minimize the carnage. I'm not impatient. I figured I get there when I was ready.''

Christian was ready late in 2005, when he fought his way back onto the Nationwide Tour. But he could not put his best foot forward thanks to his aching back. His problem, according to Romesburg, is brought on when his pelvis tilts out of alignment and puts undue pressure on his lower back. It dogged him for two until he ran across Joe LaCaze while playing in the 2008 Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by Dynamic Industries near Lafayette. LaCaze, a former Navy Seal turned chiropractor, developed a workout regimen especially for him. It brought almost instant relief.

"I hadn't felt this good in forever,'' said Christian, who stuck to the daily routine religiously -- until last week when he took advantage of a Tour off-week to spend some quality with his family.

And wouldn't you know it? He was reminded -- very painfully -- about the benefits of sticking to the program.

"I'm fine sitting and standing,'' he said. "It's when I get in golf posture that I have trouble.''

Nevertheless Christian learned a valuable lesson from last week's flare up and he's bound and determined it won't happen again thanks to the proper exercise. He believes if he stays healthy he has enough game to make a serious run at 'The 25,' and finally work his way onto the PGA TOUR.

"I know if I can stay healthy and play the game I'm capable of I'll get there,'' he said. "And if I don't I'll know I gave it everything. It has been a great ride. But there's another chapter to come.''