Faxon happy to be back on TOUR after unwanted hiatus

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VERONA, N.Y. -- Seeing his breath on the practice range at 7:15 a.m. before his first PGA TOUR round in 13 1/2 months wasn't Brad Faxon's idea of a good time.

Even for someone accustomed to nasty weather while growing up on the banks of Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island.

"I don't think anyone had this in mind," Faxon said, a wry smile alluding to driving rain and wind chills in the low 40s that reminded players of Royal Birkdale and the British Open.

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Brad Faxon is playing in his first TOUR event this week in over a year.

Brad Faxon

Through 18 holes

STATS Rnd1 TOT EAGLES -- 0 BIRDIES 1 1 PARS 12 12 BOGEYS 5 5 DOUBLE BOGEYS -- 0 OTHER -- 0 DRIVING ACCURACY 71 71.4 DRIVING DISTANCE 260.0 260.0 PUTTS PER ROUND 28 28.0 PUTTS PER GIR 2.000 2.000 GREENS IN REG 39 38.9 SAND SAVES 100 100.0

Shooting 4-over-par 76 in the first round of the Turning Stone Resort Championship, second leg of the Fall Series, didn't exactly have Faxon warming his body with cartwheels Thursday. But completing 18 holes at Atunyote Golf Club did bring some sense of satisfaction for the eight-time PGA TOUR winner.

Getting an extended opportunity to enjoy life at home with his wife and children was a rare treat, but competition and hanging out with his buddies has been a Faxon staple on the PGA TOUR for a quarter of a century. That ended Aug. 17, 2007, when he missed the cut in the Wyndham Championship, setting off a lengthy sabbatical because of foot and knee surgeries.

"I like playing golf, and it's tough being out that long, but my life isn't just golf," said Faxon, 47. "I'm using this week as a gauge to see if my knee can handle four days of walking, and if I play good, that's a bonus. I've played a lot of 'cart golf' and walked a little, but until two weeks ago, I literally couldn't squat down to line up a putt.

"It's hard because it's not like I've been able to practice the way I'd like to practice before I start my year. This is like baby steps. I made it around the practice round, didn't hurt myself and now I can go play competitive golf again."

Faxon's latest physical travails began last August when he had surgery on his right foot to remove bunions. He played in the Merrill Lynch Shootout as Justin Leonard's partner, then learned he had anterior cruciate ligament damage in his right knee, the same one that was operated on right after he won his last PGA TOUR title in the 2005 Travelers Championship.

"My right foot has been numb since six months after I tore my ACL on Thanksgiving 2003," Faxon said.

Faxon played without an ACL for 18 months while having shots in his back and other procedures before undergoing ACL and micro-fracture knee surgery in December. He didn't resume hitting balls until late April, missed the cut in a 36-hole U.S. Open qualifying in early June and then planned to play in the Travelers Championship two weeks later. But he needed his knee drained that week, as it has been five times since surgery. He played the following week in the CVS Charity Classic that he and fellow Rhode Islander Billy Andrade host, then hoped to return for the Wyndham Championship.

Faxon said he's still a bit timid, conscious of walking and wondering if his knee will hurt when he bends down. But he was generally satisfied after opening with nine pars, making five bogeys on the next six holes and then holing a 30-yard bunker shot for his only birdie, a 2 at No. 16.

"I would have loved to shoot a low round," Faxon said. "It would have been a great story if I came back and played great. But it's still a good story just getting back and playing 18 holes. I had a little rust falling off here and there, but this was a test to see if I could walk, and I made it around.

"You can play all the practice rounds and fun rounds you want, but when that flag goes up, it's an entirely different ball game playing in competition. I felt comfortable, even with the (bad) weather, which can actually make you feel less nervous because all you're trying to do is get from A to B. You're not worried about a score, just staying in the present. Maybe that was a good thing for me."

Faxon plans to visit his doctor for an assessment next week and then hopes to play the final two Fall Series events in Florida. He played this year on an exemption as a top-25 career money winner and will be able "to take a mulligan" for next year because he won't surpass the five-tournament maximum that would have forced him to use a medical exemption.

"The toughest part (Thursday) was getting back into a routine, into some kind of flow and rhythm, and visualizing a shot and picking a club," Faxon said. "When you're playing in a cart and you pull out a laser and just pull a club out, it's not the same thing. And the hardest thing for people to understand is it's a long week. You buzz around at home in three or four hours, but after 3 1/2 hours today, we were on the 10th hole, so it's hard to stay focused.

"But the most important thing for me right now is to be healthy for 2009. I don't want to start the year tip-toeing. I want to come out and have my physical health and my golf game both in good shape. I feel like if I can get back to 80 or 90 percent with my leg, I'll be able to be competitive out here again."