Golfweek - Golf News Magazine

By SEAN MARTIN
Assistant Editor

Last September, Matthew Hannaford’s heart started racing during a practice round. For most, that’s a familiar feeling on the course. Hannaford knew it was something more serious.


Hannaford was suffering from Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome. Enlarged nerves on his heart had caused it to sometimes beat as much as three times faster than normal, usually under exertion. Hannaford had already undergone surgery once to fix the potentially fatal condition, similar to the one that caused David Toms to collapse at a PGA Tour event.

“It was scary,” Hannaford said about his second incident, “because I thought I’d gotten it fixed.”

His heart calmed a couple minutes later, so he waited until after his practice round to tell his mother. After all, he wanted to play all 18 holes. The preparation paid off, as Hannaford went on to win the 54-hole tournament.

“That little stinker,” says his mother, Karen, only able to joke about it now. Hannaford underwent a second heart surgery soon after, and hasn’t had another incident since.

Hannaford tried to hit balls just two days after surgery, but stopped because he was still sore and couldn’t swing properly. He chipped and putted instead.

Hannaford’s hard work has resulted in seven victories in 21 tournaments this year, mostly on local tours run by his parents. Hannaford said his best performance came in late June at a one-spot U.S. Junior qualifier, where he overcame a late quadruple bogey to win by one.

Hannaford, of Cape Coral, Fla., shot an 81 Monday at Boone Valley Golf Club in the first round of the U.S. Junior. He came close to completing another amazing comeback, shooting a second-round 71 Tuesday to miss the cut by two shots.

Hannaford had his first WPW incident after a soccer game in fall 2004. He couldn’t seem to catch his breath after the game, and when he started to turn white his parents grabbed the phone to dial 9-1-1. Hannaford took a deep breath, and his heart rate returned to normal.

He had an eight-hour procedure called an ablation to kill one of the nerves on his heart soonafter. Catheters were run through small incisions in his groin and shoulder, and electrodes at the catheters’ tip were used to burn the nerve.

It is rare for the syndrome to reappear, but it did last Labor Day. Matthew e-mailed Toms for words of encouragement before his second surgery.

“He told me not to be nervous and trust the doctors,” Hannaford said. “The first (surgery), I wasn’t actually as nervous because I didn’t quite understand how bad it was. The second time, I knew that if the surgery didn’t go right, who knows what could happen.

“The doctor started talking about golf and that really relaxed me.”

Matthew and his brother Michael, who caddied this week at the U.S. Junior, took up the game six years ago when their family built a home on an executive course after moving from Michigan to Florida. The brothers then started home-schooling, which is when their friendship strengthened. Between school and golf – and the occassional ping-pong competition – they were around each other nonstop.

Golf is truly a family affair, and not just because the Hannafords have a mat and net set up in their dining room so the boys can hit balls. The boys’ parents ran the X-Factor Junior Tour before starting the Premier Junior Tour last month. Matthew and Michael have finished 1-2 in the tour’s first two events.

The brothers don’t just play their parents’ tour. They help run it, spending about two hours before and after their rounds to help out.

“Those are long days,” Matthew said. “It feels good when you get to your hotel room.”

There’s another long day Matthew and Michael feel good about. They organized a golf marathon to raise money for Alzheimer’s research, playing 120 holes in one day last December. Local television stations covered the event.

Getting to the Junior feels even better, considering Matthew almost lost a late lead at the qualifier.

Matthew was 5 under for the tournament and up three shots when he came to the par-4 13th. His mind went “blank” when he got to the top of his swing, and he topped his 3-wood tee shot about 150 yards.

Instead of laying up on his second shot, Hannaford went for the green with another 3-wood. He pushed that shot into trees and had to take an unplayable lie.

He hit 5-iron on his second attempt, leaving himself with 70 yards for his seventh shot. Hannaford got up and down from there, but was still one behind.

Hannaford parred the final five holes to finish at 1-under 143 and win by one, beating a field that including Mexico’s Mauricio Azcue, who’s posted top 10s at this summer’s Rolex Tournament of Champions and Junior World, and AJGA winner Byeong-hun An.

Matthew’s heart was probably racing again Monday and Tuesday. But this time it was for a good reason.

• • •

Sean Martin is a Golfweek assistant editor. To reach him e-mail smartin@golfweek.com.

Posted: 7/23/2007

print

email

discuss