Garth Mulroy hoping to return for European tour despite injury lay-off

After speaking to Retief Goosen and several top spine surgeons, Garth Mulroy is hoping his injured back will hold on for just a little longer as he prepares for next month’s final stage of the European Tour’s Qualifying School in Spain and then hopefully a big summer on the Sunshine Tour.

Mulroy has been struggling for some time now with the L4 and L5 discs in his back, to the point that he has considered the same surgery that saved Goosen’s career.

“I’ve spoken to five or six different surgeons and they all say I’m a great candidate for disc replacement. As far as I know, Retief (Goosen) is the only golfer to ever do a disc replacement. I’ve spoken to him and he’s felt great since then. It’s a long recovery though and I’ll be out for a good four months before I can start swinging.

“I can’t do it now with Q School and then the upcoming summer schedule in South Africa. I might just try and ride it out. At the same time though I could go to Q School and it could go there. It’s a tough call,” Mulroy said at this week’s Vodacom Origins of Golf at Euphoria Golf Estate, which teed off yesterday.
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Mulroy has returned to the Sunshine Tour to secure his playing privileges here, and has been using the Vodacom Origins series as part of his preparation for Qualifying School.

“I wanted to get my game in shape again before Q School and then the summer swing on the Sunshine Tour. I think my exemption on the Sunshine Tour is over this year so I still need to keep my card here.

“I don’t want to go back to playing the Web.Com Tour because it’s just a putting contest every week, in my opinion. It doesn’t matter where you hit it. To go and shoot five under the first day and not even be in the top 10 is just not fun really. So I’ll try and get a card on the European Tour again.”

But it’s a process he’s taking one day at a time, and as his back allows.“My back is sort of here and there at the moment. I’m just trying to manage it. The discs keep flaring up. They’re pretty broken down and I just have to do what I can to try and relieve the pressure there and give it support. Hopefully it stays in a condition where I can keep playing.”
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