Graham

DeLaet

The Canadian has dealt with back issues his entire career but was still known as one of the best ball-strikers of the modern era. It’s hard to get a true gauge of his elite level of striking since he was so often playing through injury but his good weeks were really good. Highlights included a +6.9 SG:Off-the-Tee effort at the 2012 Sony Open and a +10.3 SG:Approach week at the 2016 Valspar. He piled up six career podium finishes in 186 starts but will remain one of the top talents without a win, despite so many close calls. “I love the game. I love the competition and everything but every time I tried to ramp it up and get practicing again, I would just go backwards. It just got to the point where it wasn’t worth it because it was affecting my life with my family and things I wanted to do around the house with my kids and all that kind of stuff.” DeLaet has signed on as an analyst for TSN during major golf weeks.

DeLaet shared the news via social media, “On Wednesday, I will be going in for a Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) procedure on my low back aimed at alleviating the chronic pain I’ve been dealing with the past few years.” The Canadian was one of the best ball-strikers on TOUR just a few years back but it’s tough to maintain that level of striking when you are in pain. Let’s hope this provides some relief for DeLaet. In the meantime, gamers can wait until a clean bill of health before thinking of a reinvestment.

The Canadian has battled back issues all of his career, so this is nothing new. He returned last fall from a prolonged layoff but had to shut it down again after five events. Hopefully, this isn’t the same scenario but we’ll have to wait and see how it plays out. This week, he opened with a birdie-free 76 in round one at Memorial Park Golf Course. It wasn’t an ideal start but also didn’t eliminate him from the cutline equation, with the course playing difficult this week. Today, he returned and opened with a bogey and five pars before backing out of the event. There is no timeline for his return.

The Canadian made his long-awaited return from injury last fall but it last just five events before shutting it down again due to back troubles. This week will be his first action since a missed cut at the Sony Open in January. DeLaet has always been known for his elite ball-striking but he lost strokes tee-to-green in all three of his measured events last season. Fans should rejoice his return but gamers should hold off on investing until he flashes some of form.

DeLaet enjoyed his 38th birthday yesterday but won’t be enjoying the festivities at Torrey Pines this week. It’s possible this is precautionary but it’s not good news to see him cite a back injury because that is what kept him sidelined for all of 2018 and most of 2019. Gamers should remove him from all weekly lineups and wait for a clean bill of health before reconsidering an investment.

The 37-year-old Canadian has been out of action since he withdrew from the CJ CUP in October of 2017. DeLaet underwent two back procedures during that time including an L4-L5 microdiscectomy when the first treatment didn’t work. He’s been enjoying his time as a father but the competitive juices are flowing again as he starts the season on a Major Medical Extension with 24 starts to earn 266 FedExCup Points. DeLaet has a stellar top-10 strike rate with 33 top 10s in 176 career starts. He’s a major wildcard out of the gate so gamers might want to take the wait-and-see approach before investing in weekly leagues.

The Canadian was last seen withdrawing from the CJ CUP in late 2017. Since that time he went through stem cell injection treatment and then had an L4-L5 microdiscectomy surgery when the injection treatment didn’t work so well. Gamers should expect plenty of rust in his return but this is very promising for the fans that have been waiting for nearly two years to see him peg it again.

The Canadian has been sidelined while he deals with his back issues. He was hoping that mid-2019 would line up well for a return but he provided an update on social media today, “My recovery has been slower than I expected, but I am getting better each day. Based on my progress and discussions with my team, it looks like I will be back for the 2019/2020 season kicking off in September.” DeLaet was a top-10 machine for years and one of the best talents to still be winless on the big stage. Perhaps a clean bill of health will provide him another chance to peak.

Play was originally suspended at 1:27 p.m. CT, but an inch and one-quarter of rain fell on Redstone, forcing tournament officials to bang the rest of the day. Fifty-one golfers completed 18 holes. When Graham DeLaet returns on Friday morning, he’ll be sizing up a 40-inch putt for par at the par-3 ninth and a bogey-free round. He’s 5-under through 17. The forecast on Friday includes another fair chance of rain and thunderstorms, primarily in the afternoon.

The Canadian is quietly piecing together a modest comeback campaign from back surgery early in 2011. He’s 7-for-11 with but one top 25 but he entered this week ranked 121st in FedExCup Points. Thus far at TPC Louisiana, he’s hit 27 greens in regulation and converted an eagle and 10 birdies. DeLaet was the last of three to settle three strokes back of Jason Dufner’s outright lead at the midpoint.