Golf can be a lonely sport but for Zander Lombard, support and nurturing from the woman he loves has seen him through a seven-month injury lay-off and back in action at this week's Investec South African Open Championship.
The then 29-year-old was on track for a career-season in 2024 and arrived at the Italian Open presented by Regione Emilia-Romagna in June 18th on the Race to Dubai Rankings, with a runner-up finish and two top tens already under his belt.
But during a three-a-side game of padel with his wife Kelsy, caddie and some friends, Lombard went up for a smash and when he came down his left knee “snapped – like a gunshot”.
An MRI scan and consultation with the doctor of Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich revealed an anterior cruciate ligament rupture and medial meniscus tear - Lombard's season was over.
Over the next seven months, he would rely on the help of Kelsy and his psychologist Theo Bezuidenhout as he edged back to a competitive return but as he stood in the surrounds of Durban Country Club with a beaming smile on his face, it was clear he - and Kelsy - had taken the 'brutal' lay-off all in their stride.
“My wife and I just spoke about it a week ago, you kind of forget the bad moments,” he said. “My wife had to get me dressed for at least six weeks, I was in a brace and two crutches. Then on crutches until 12 weeks and then one crutch for another four. So it was 15, 16 weeks of constant nurturing from her and your mind just blanks out the bad memories.
“It was tough on the whole but there were some highlights in between. Little goals of getting off the crutches, learning how to walk again. Those little things keep me going.
“Me being goal-driven as a golfer it really helped to set those mini goals, those weekly goals: do three squats one day and four the next and five. Those mini goals really kept me going.
"It was mentally tough, Theo Bezuidenhout my psychologist had a lot of weekly phone calls to check in but as soon as December came around and the weather got better I was quickly able to swing a club and chip and putt and get back on a golf course. It was llike it never happened.
“It's been a tough road but we're back and ready to go.”
Lombard missed the cut on his return to full competitive action at the NTT DATA Pro Am on the HotelPlanner Tour earlier this month but that has not dampened his enthusiasm and he admits he is feeling “like a kid” as he tees it up in his home open.
“It's so amazing,” he said. “It's been brutal at home and to be out and seeing all our friends and peers playing with us, it's amazing just to be back in the grind. It's awesome.
“I feel like a kid again playing my first SA Open. I'm bouncing with energy but hopefully I can control that and have a really good week.
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“As a kid you always dream of winning your national open, there's so many great names on that trophy. It's defintiely one to gun for but I'm just happy to be here and see what the week has in store for us.”
The DP World Tour this week makes its return to one of South Africa's most storied venues as a hugely revamped Durban Country Club returns to the schedule for the first tiime in over a decade.
Lombard knows all about the venue going back to his amateur days and is delighted to see it playing host to the biggest events once again.
“It looks absolutely stunning,” he said. “They've done a great, great job at getting this course back to what it should be.
“I remember playing a lot of amateur golf here in the early 2000s and it's always been the grand old lady and for her to be back at proper tournament condition is lovely to see.”
