Golfweek

By JEFF RUDE
Senior Writer

Longtime PGA Tour caddie Greg Rita underwent surgery to remove part of a malignant glioblastoma multiforme Grade 4 brain tumor Nov. 9 at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla. He was to undergo further tests Nov. 21 to determine a plan to treat the remaining cancer. The treatment probably will include chemotherapy and radiation and last for about six months, said Kelley Rita, his wife of four years.

Father of a 2 1/2-year-old son, Rita suffered a seizure on the practice range Sept. 20 while working for Scott Hoch at the Champions Tour SAS Championship in Cary, N.C. After emergency medics took him to a hospital by ambulance, doctors said the seizure was because of a brain bleed caused by the tumor.

“I’m going to fight hard for my wife and child,” Rita said Nov. 19 from his Jacksonville home.

Kelley Rita said doctors felt good about how much of the tumor they were able to remove and didn’t expect to get it all. Doctors told them Rita was fortunate the tumor was in the right front of the brain, she said.

According to the National Cancer Institute, GBM Grade 4 patients treated with optimal therapy, including surgical resection, radiation therapy and chemotherapy, have a median survival of approximately 12 months.

“He’s got a fight ahead of him, but we’ve got a lot of fight in us,” Kelley Rita said. “It’s going to be tough.”

Rita’s employers have included Hall of Famer Curtis Strange, two-time major winner John Daly and British Open champion David Duval. He started caddying on Tour in 1976, when he became a frequent traveling partner of his friend, Bruce Edwards, a fellow Hartford, Conn., resident. Edwards, the popular caddie for Tom Watson, in 2004 lost a 15-month battle against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a neurological disorder commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

Hoch has partnered with Rita for more than four years. Lately the two have talked more about health than golf.

“Luckily they treated it early,” Hoch said. “He seems to be doing well now. He’s upbeat.”

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Jeff Rude is a Golfweek senior writer. To reach him e-mail jrude@golfweek.com.

Posted: 11/22/2007

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