Injured Bateman delays surgery to defend title
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents
GRAND BLANC, Mich. -- To say Brian Bateman's expectations were low when he came to Warwick Hills to play in the Buick Open last year probably would have been an understatement.
Bateman's putter was being stubborn, and his swing equally obstinate, so in eight starts he had only made some $65,000 and change. On the 72nd hole that Sunday, though, Bateman made a 12-footer that "changed my life" as he won his first PGA TOUR event.
Too bad those changes were short-lived.
Bateman returns to defend his title this week with nearly four times as much money earned but only one top-20 finish and six cuts made in 16 starts. An ailing left shoulder that is playing havoc with his swing has held Bateman back in 2008.
"It hurts on every shot," Bateman said. "It's more at the top of my swing when I extend my left arm. If you're a right-handed golfer, you know when the hands get to the top of the swing, your whole left side of your shoulder and your rotator and your left bicep is fully extended, and that's where it grabs.
"It's caused me to shorten my swing, which has taken me out of my natural golf swing, so my mechanics have changed. Because of that, my ball-striking has not been very good."
Bateman first started feeling pain in December. At first, he thought it was tendonitis, but an MRI several months ago revealed a torn labrum. He's considered surgery, but he wasn't sure about the timing -- and defending the Buick Open was a priority.
"The part that's scary for me the most is any time you have an injury and a surgery to follow and the rehab process, it's just the unknown," Bateman said. "I thought in the last maybe few weeks that it was time just to have the surgery and then call it a year, but I really wanted to play here.
"You don't have many opportunities out here to defend your title, and I thought I owed it to Buick and to the people here at Warwick to at least come back and try."
The operation, which could come as soon as the next few weeks or after the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, would be Bateman's second in the last three years. He also had surgery on his left knee, similar to the procedure Tiger Woods is facing.
"It's a long battle," Bateman said. "You come out of surgery, and you're not allowed to do much other than rest for a few weeks. And then you start your slow rehab, and then once you get past that, you can slowly start hitting balls again.
"When you're playing at the highest level like we are out here each week, if you don't stay sharp all the time, it just feels like it takes forever to get back to where you were, especially after a surgery. He's going to come back stronger than ever; we all expect that.
"But I think the one positive he has going for him is that he's in extremely good shape to start with, so his rehab will probably take a little less time than most of us."
Aching shoulder or not, Bateman is going to relish the opportunity to defend his first PGA TOUR title. He'll join the inaugural champ, Billy Casper, for Wednesday's 50th anniversary celebration, and he even had a chance to try that 12-footer again on Tuesday. He made it, too.
"I've watched the tape a few times; I've re-lived that putt a million times in my memory, and it's something that no one can ever take away from me," Bateman said. "To birdie the last hole and win a PGA TOUR event is a great feeling, and I think that's how all of us would like to do it, at least for your first one."
The rough at Warwick Hills is more lush and thick than it was a year ago, which should make it more difficult this week, Bateman said. The course is a bit softer, too, but he still expects a challenge.
"Although (the greens) are soft, they slope so much from back to front that sometimes it's tough to get even short irons close to the hole because all of us spin the ball out of the fairways, and it's easy for them to come back racing even from the front of the green," Bateman said.
"That's the great thing about this golf course, soft or hard, fast or slow, it always brings out the best in whoever wins here."
Bateman is living proof.
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