Asian Tour: cancer survivor Hendry ready to win New Zealand Open, months after success would have been ‘just turning up’
- Kiwi Michael Hendry had just finished second at the World City Championship in Hong Kong when he got his leukaemia diagnosis
- Now he is back on the Asian Tour and targeting a second Open title at Queenstown
Less than a year ago, Michael Hendry did not know how much longer he would live, let alone if he would ever play golf professionally again.
The New Zealander had just finished second at the World City Championship in Hong Kong when he was diagnosed with leukaemia, and in May announced he was taking indefinite leave from the sport.
On Thursday, with the all-clear from his latest biopsy still fresh in the mind, Hendry returns to the Asian Tour to compete in the New Zealand Open, with a second title in Queenstown firmly in his sights.
“Success nine months ago would have been just being able to turn up,” Hendry, who won his national Open in 2017, said. “Fortunately the hard work I have done has put me in a position where I feel I have a genuine chance to win the tournament if things click.”
Four months after that initial diagnosis, the 44-year-old returned to the game, competing and winning on the Charles Tour in New Zealand, and he believes golf has helped him recover.
“One thing that became apparent when I was at a stage where I was unsure how much longer I was going to live, was that I was going to enjoy every day I had left,” he said. “My priorities were my family and what I do for a living.
“Golf was such a huge part of my recovery in my opinion. The mental drive and the goals push you to do things I wouldn’t necessarily have done in terms of health stuff – like the extra work in the gym – and I am convinced that made a massive difference to my recovery.
“The things driving me were my family and getting to full health to fulfil my responsibility to my kids and be the dad I want to be. And how do I earn money – it’s golf.”
And as he made improvements with his health, so too the hard work in the gym and a more rounded mental approach pay dividends. He has even found a few more metres off the tee as a benefit of his leaner and stronger frame.
“I have seen a massive difference in my mental health and in the way I approach my life on a daily basis,” Hendry said. “It is much more about maintaining balance and a sense of enjoyment with what I do, even when it is not going perfectly
“I am enjoying golf for what it is and it seems to have helped me with my mental and emotional situation.
“Golf is such a hard game. Skill is 90 per cent of it and the more I play, the more I am convinced that the other 10 per cent is purely fate.”
Hendry begins his tournament on the Coronet Course at Millbrook Golf Resort at 12.46pm local time, alongside Hong Kong Open winner Ben Campbell.
After missing the cut at the International Series Oman last week, Taichi Kho will try to get his season up and running on the same track. The Hongkonger has been paired with Australia’s Justin Warren, with the duo starting on the ninth hole at 1.04pm.
