Raffle ticket years ago opened the door for Stacy Lewis
LGP Tour player of the year owes her success to an orthopaedic surgeon, who fixed her back after winning top prize in a lucky draw
Stacy Lewis might not be the LPGA Tour player of year if not for her doctor buying a raffle ticket he didn't want. It's a bizarre twist in her unlikely path to the top of women's golf. And it's a reminder to Lewis that whenever she asks that familiar question - "Why me?" - the answer no longer is grounded in self-pity, but in sheer amazement.
"I guess it's fate a little bit," Lewis said.
Fate doesn't happen without hard work, and few players had it tougher than Lewis. She was diagnosed with scoliosis when she was 11, so severe she wore a back brace for 18 hours every day from age 11 until she got out of high school, and then had to have surgery when that didn't correct the curvature in her spine.
That's when Gary Brock, her orthopaedic surgeon in Houston, Texas, entered the picture. Brock knew Lewis played golf at The Woodlands Country Club. He just didn't know she was good enough to have earned a scholarship to Arkansas. In the months leading up to her back surgery, Brock was invited to a charity event in which one of the prizes was a series of lessons with a golf pro.
"I went with a friend of mine. He was the one who wanted to win the raffle ticket," Brock said. "I just bought one to humour him and I ended up winning. The pro that I worked with had worked with Stacy. All summer long, he said what a great golfer she could be."
It was enough for Brock to consider giving Lewis a chance to succeed. The original plan was to insert two rods in her back. Brock suggested a single rod with five screws, which would allow her more flexibility and rotation for golf. It also meant going in from the side, breaking a rib and manoeuvring around two major blood vessels.
