DiMarco ready to get back in swing
Chris DiMarco is probably too proud to beg, but given his surgically repaired left shoulder isn't quite 100 percent, he might not have a problem if the folks at the Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge let him hit from the middle tees instead of from the championship tees as he's accustomed to.
DiMarco hasn't played competitive golf since late August. How he'll do in today's 16th annual 3-Tour Challenge, a made-for-television event that raises money to help foster kids, is anyone's guess.
"I'll probably be hitting first all day," he said, referring to his being farthest from the hole. "I'm probably about 95 percent."
DiMarco is part of the PGA Tour's squad, which includes two long hitters in Bubba Watson and Camilo Villegas. They'll be facing Fred Funk, Nick Price and Jay Haas of the Champions Tour and Natalie Gulbis, Cristie Kerr and Morgan Pressel from the LPGA Tour in a pair of nine-hole head-to-head competitions at Reflection Bay Golf Club with $1 million in prize money at stake.
DiMarco missed last month's Las Vegas PGA Tour stop when his rehabilitation forced him to sit out the Frys.com Open, so he's glad for the chance to return to the valley.
"This is a great event and I really wanted to make it," said DiMarco, who has earned $950,415 this year and was 107th on the PGA Tour's money list. "I do a Pro-Am in Orlando for cancer kids, so anytime you can help kids, I'm glad to be involved."
DiMarco's shoulder had been giving him problems for two years. But it really started to bother him in March when he competed at the World Golf Championships.
"I heard a pop and I knew something wasn't right," he said. "But I hate dealing with medical stuff so I tried to play through it."
He missed the cut the next two weeks and limped along. But when he placed fourth at the Bridgestone Invitational in early August, he earned his biggest check of the year -- $310,000 -- and with it, enough security to shut his game down. He then had surgery in September.
"Each day, it gets a little better," he said. "But I don't think I'll be outdriving anyone here."
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2913.
