It’s taken 18 months to get to this point, but Michael Hendry admitted it was “special” to return to the Open Championship following his battle with leukaemia.
The New Zealander had qualified for the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool after finishing runner-up at the World City Championship in Hong Kong in March 2023.
However, shortly after that, Hendry fell ill. He would be diagnosed with leukaemia less than six weeks after qualifying for the oldest tournament in golf.
Thanks to a medical exemption, Hendry returned to the Open a year on, playing at Royal Troon, drawing a line under a tough time in his life.
“It was incredible. Words can’t really describe how grateful I am, not only to the R&A, but to all of the doctors and nurses who have helped me over the last 12 months,” Hendry said after his opening round 75.
“It was extremely special. This is one thing that really got me through my recovery. To finally be here and teeing it up was extremely special.”
Not only was it special for him to play in the Open for the first time since 2018, but he also did so with his young family watching on.
That in itself was another reason to keep fighting through his illness.
“I really hoped I was going to be healthy enough to play so I could bring them over,” the Kiwi said.
“I’m no spring chicken anymore, and playing on the Japan Tour, we don’t get that many opportunities to get into major events. This could very well be my last British Open.
“So having a young family, and my girls are now just at the age where they can kind of understand what Dad does, and to have them here and experiencing The Open, which is the biggest, the oldest, the best golf tournament of the lot, I think it gives them a really cool perspective as to what Dad does. So it’s really cool.”
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Michael Hendry: If I was healthy enough, I was going to play
Many would be forgiven for letting go of their careers, especially sporting ones, after going through what the New Zealander had to deal with in the last 18 months.
However, Hendry knew that he was going to play again if he could, and it was that thought process that kept him going throughout the battle.
“At no point did I think I wouldn’t play golf again. I’d made my mind up that, even if I was sick, if I was healthy enough to play, I was going to try and play,” the Kiwi said.
“I decided early on in the piece that I was going to try to dictate my life rather than this dictating my life. I had no doubt that I would get back. To the level, I wasn’t sure.
“It was a long road back. I mean, I lost a lot of weight, 14 kilograms in three weeks, and it was a long road back,” he continued.
“I’m super grateful for my support team and getting me back to at least some kind of physical capabilities to play at a decent level.
“It’s been amazing. I’ve won in Japan not long ago, just over a month ago. So I was pretty surprised how quickly my game came back to me.”
Hendry also revealed how the golfing community got behind him. He received plenty of messages support throughout that troublesome time, with some meaning quite a lot to him.
“We’re all competitors, but we spend so much time together. At the end of the day, most of us want the best for each other. It really came through when I got sick. It was very humbling,” he explained.
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“Stevie Williams [former caddie] is a pretty big name. He’s got a lot to do with New Zealand golf. Two days in, Steve was on the e-mail. Obviously through Steve, Scotty [Adam Scott] was sending messages as well. All the Aussie boys, Japanese players as well. Yeah, just lots of the guys.”
All we can say is that it is great to have Michael back towards full health and fitness, and getting his start in The Open like he deserved.
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