Wesley Bryan comeback attempt takes another detour

Then: Wesley Bryan forged a sizzling streak on the PGA Tour early in 2017, his rookie season, only to see his career interrupted by shoulder surgery for a torn labrum.

Now: Close to regaining the form that once propelled him to 36th in the world rankings, he is on the sidelines again after a tendon injury in his wrist required surgery.

He couldn’t be blamed for being frustrated, but he sees the sunny side of his situation, too.

“I was excited about how I was playing,” Bryan said in recalling his three most recent PGA Tour events. “I was looking forward to the stretch of tournaments coming up” after his last start in mid-May in the Byron Nelson.

That schedule changed after he “felt something pop” during a round at the Country Club of Lexington. The injury required surgery.

“The good news is there was no major structural damage,” said Bryan, who grew up in Chapin and starred at Dutch Fork High and the University of South Carolina. “I already have some mobility in my wrist and have seen some major progress in the first week” of rehabilitation.

Just as he did after should surgery in January 2019, he will take advantage of his absence from golf “for some great family time.” He relished the opportunity then, 18 months between starts with wife Elizabeth and new daughter Hadley. Now, he will do the same with daughter Winnie, almost 6 months old, added to the family.

His return to competition obviously depends on his recovery, and, he said: “I won’t rush it. I won’t try to play (on the Tour) until I feel I’m ready. I won’t have any idea until I can hit some full shots.”

Wesley and brother George IV made a name for themselves with trick-shot artistry after outstanding college golf careers. Wesley earned a spot on the Web.com Tour in 2016 and sparkled, winning three times en route to earning player of the year honors and a promotion to the PGA Tour.

He had finishes for T4, T4 and T7 in a three-tournament streak early in his first full PGA Tour season (2016-17), then won the 2017 RBC Heritage. He tied for third at the John Deere later that season, but he struggled all of the 2017-18 campaign and fell to 163rd in the FedEx Cup standings.

After five starts in the 2018-19 season, he gave in to the pain and had shoulder surgery. Sidelined for 18 months, he made only four starts in the truncated 2019-20 season and had played 11 tournaments in the current season.

“The shoulder is great,” Bryan said at the Heritage in April. “I’ve been feeling a lot better about the golf game that what the scores have been showing.”

The results showed he was trending in the right direction. He tied for 25th at the Heritage, then 48th at Valspar and 26th at the Byron Nelson before the tendon injury short-circuited his comeback.

“I feel very fortunate,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of good breaks and opportunities through the years, and I can’t wait to get back.”

U.S. Amateur qualifying

The battle for spots in the U.S. Amateur at Camden CC on Monday and Tuesday unfolded with a myriad of sub-plots, and five players in the 36-hole qualifying secured berths in the national tournament at Oakmont in August.

Coastal Carolina golfer Brady Hinkle (Lancaster) led the way, thanks to a sizzling 7-under-par 63 in Tuesday’s second round. He finished at 7-under 133.

Columbian Ryan Marter, a former A.C. Flora standout who collected his first college victory for Wofford this spring and placed fourth in the recent Palmetto Amateur, qualified for the nation’s biggest amateur event for the third time.

Spartanburg High instructor Todd White continued to defy the calendar and, at age 53, earned a berth in another U.S. Amateur. He came to Camden one day after competing in the U.S. Senior Open where he made the cut and finished the second low amateur.

Marter, White, Collin Adams (Wake Forest) and Max Dupree (USC Upstate) all posted 3-under-par 137s to join Hinkle in advancing to the Amateur.

Chip shots. Canceled in 2020 by the coronavirus outbreak and moved from its traditional June dates, the Sonic Columbia City Women’s Golf Championship is set for Monday and Tuesday at the CC of Lexington. ... John Slough, a native of England who plays at UNC Charlotte, won the Palmetto Amateur at Aiken’s Palmetto GC by five strokes. ... Allen Terrell, director of instruction at the Dustin Johnson Golf School at Murrells Inlet, has been named one of Golf magazine’s Top 100 Teachers in America.

This story was originally published July 17, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Wesley Bryan comeback attempt takes another detour."