What's a little arthritis at the age of 22? Not enough to stop Nitties

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James Nitties has led for two days at the final stage of q-school.

LA QUINTA, Calif. -- For three weeks in a Dallas hospital, James Nitties didn't know whether he would ever walk again, much less play golf.

Nitties was 22 at the time and had come to Texas in the summer of 2005 to visit friends. Three days into the trip, though, the young Aussie's right hip seized up and landed him in the ER where nurses gave him morphine to quell the pain.

"It felt like someone stuck a screwdriver in there and was turning it," Nitties recalled.

The pain traveled to his knee, which swelled up like a soccer ball, and then to his foot. Nitties felt like a pincushion as doctors tried to determine what was wrong. Finally, a rheumatologist was called in and made the correct diagnosis -- he had reactive arthritis, a chronic condition that is characterized by a buildup of fluid in the joints. He'll always have it, but the arthritis can be controlled by medication.

Once he was discharged from the hospital, Nitties spent another month in the United States recovering. Walking was so painful, he left the door to his hotel room ajar so he didn't have to open it when room service was delivered. He was on crutches when he returned to Australia.

"I had my mate dressing me," Nitties said, shaking his head. "For a 22-year-old, it was hard. I don't want to dwell on it and make it like an excuse, but it put me out for a good year."

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Small wonder then, he's trying not to get ahead of himself this week at the PGA TOUR National Qualifying Tournament. The young Aussie didn't even know that he was leading when he polished off his round of 69 on the Stadium Course at PGA West on Friday afternoon.

"Where do I stand at the moment?" Nitties said as he greeted a trio of reporters. Told he was in the lead, Nitties replied simply, "Well, I'm happy with that."

Nitties has a 54-hole total of 15 under, which left him in a tie with Glen Day, two strokes ahead of their nearest challenger, Geoffrey Sisk. Three more rounds like that, and he could realize his dream of playing the PGA TOUR that he's doggedly chased for the last four years. At the minimum, he'll have status on the Nationwide Tour, which gives him the stability he's been seeking.

In the last year, Nitties has played on the PGA Tour of Australasia and the Hooters Tour, with some Gateway Tour and Golden State Tour events thrown in. He traveled to Scotland in October to play in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, and then it was back to Australia, where he won the recent Western Australian Open before heading to southern California.

"It's hard to make it," the well-traveled Aussie said. "I know I'm good enough, but there are a lot of good players over here. Just trying to get into this spot is pretty tough in itself."

Nitties, a former participant on the GOLF CHANNEL's "Big Break" series, has never played in the q-school finals. The same year he was stricken with reactive arthritis, he played in the second stage -- "on adrenaline," Nitties said -- only to shoot 77 and miss by a stroke. The next year was spent, as he calls it "regrouping," trying to regain the strength and the weight he lost.

As he prepared for the finals, Nitties sought the advice of several other Australian players, including Nick Flanagan and David Lutterus, who got his TOUR card at q-school last year. He's taken their advice and has worked hard on his physical conditioning. The former high school sprinter recently used a running regimen to drop 10 pounds from an already sculpted frame in preparation for the 108-hole test.

"This is a win-win situation," Nitties said. "I have never been on Nationwide Tour, so obviously coming in here, knew I had some kind of status so it was good either way."

True, but he could really be getting his big break come Monday.