Q Golf - Official online magazine for Golf Queensland QGolf - Winter 2017 | Page 17

And while the surgery was necessary to protect his sight
long term, the major reason the 23-year-old decided to go
under the knife was aesthetics.
“I was sick of looking in the mirror and seeing bloodshot
eyes,” he said.
He was also conscious of his appearance to others,
particularly when arriving for a tournament where he was
not known, or meeting golf officials and sponsors.
“It may have been my imagination, but I could sense
people looking at me thinking I was hung over, or had not
had enough sleep,” he explained.
“As a non-drinker, that did not sit well with me. And I
certainly wasn’t happy with people maybe thinking I was
not taking my golf seriously, or that I didn’t care about
my career.”
A pterygium occurs when the covering of the white part
of the eye grows over the clear window at the front of the
eye (the cornea). And they are more common in people
from tropical regions who have experienced high
UV exposure.
But in the case of Dann, who was born and raised in
Gympie, it may have been hereditary. His dad, Chris, has
had surgery on both eyes to remove pterygiums.
As well as looking unpleasant, pterygiums can cause
irritation and dryness. They can also interfere with vision
by distorting the cornea which tends to throw the eye out
of focus.
Charlie said failing eyesight was not an issue with him,
although he had been advised that it could affect him in
the future. And he was not about to allow the possibility of
that impediment to interfere with a career that will take a
major change of direction when he eventually steps up to
the professional ranks, more than likely at the end of
the year.
But before that decision is made, the winner of three
major amateur events in Australia over the past 12
months sets out on the first leg of a three-month overseas
excursion. He will be accompanied on his trip, and in each
of the tournaments, by his good friend and fellow Sunshine
Coaster, Shae Wools-Cobb.
As a result of his number 45 world ranking, plus three-
marker Dann has been accepted into seven major amateur
tournaments in the UK and the US with hopefully an eighth
– the prestigious US Amateur at the Riviera Country Club
in California in mid-August – also on the agenda. And he
will receive automatic entry into the US Amateur if he
maintains his standing in the top world’s 50.
His first tournament on this exhaustive and challenging
schedule is the St Andrews Links Trophy, played at the
home of golf from June 9-11. Since its inception in 1989,
the St Andrews Links Trophy has been won by the world’s
top amateurs including Ernie Els, Lee Westwood, Trevor
Immelman, Geoff Ogilvy, Padraig Harrington, Justin Rose
and Rory McIlroy.
Royal St George’s in Kent will host his next tournament -
The British Amateur - from June 19-24. This tournament is
one of the biggest and most prestigious amateur events in
the world, with 288 players competing in a mixed stroke
play and matchplay format over six days.
Dann then heads off to the United States and in a
nine-week period will play five of the leading amateur
tournaments in the country, starting with the Dogwood
Invitational at Druid Hills, Atlanta, from June 28. The likes
of Webb Simpson, Hudson Swafford, Dustin Johnson,
Bill Haas, Justin Thomas, Matt Kuchar, Brooks Koepka,
Hunter Mahan, Lucas Glover and Harris English kicked
off professional careers after competing in the famed
Dogwood Invitational.
Next on the agenda is The Players Amateur at Berkeley
Hall C lub, Beaufort, South Carolina, from July 13. Among
the former winners of this tournament are Bill Haas,
Camilo Villegas, Rickie Fowler and Bud Cauley, as well as
Queenslanders Daniel Nisbet and Aaron Price.
From South Carolina the focus turns to Pinehurst, North
Carolina, to the 111th playing of the Southern Amateur
Championships, from July 19-22. Australian Michael Sim
is among past winners, as is Brisbane Golf Club teaching
professional, Lee Eagleton.
Before teeing up in the Western Amateur at Skokie
Country Club in Glencoe, Illinois, Dann and up to 30 other
top Australian amateur golfers will spend a week in Golf
Australia’s annual camp in Houston, Texas.
Under the direction of Golf Australia’s High Performance
Director Brad James at Woodlands Country Club, the camp
attendees will have a ‘tune-up’ for between four to
six days.
“We will have members of the national squad attending, as
well as the state squads,” Brad James explained.
“It is a chance for them to check in physically, emotionally
and technically, as well as their game. This is an
opportunity also, for the golfers to prepare for some of the
bigger events further down the line.’’
Following the camp, it is on to the Western Amateur for
Dann, the world’s third oldest amateur championship
behind the British Amateur and the US Amateur.
This tournament will host 156 of the top-ranked golfers
from around the world from July 31 to August 5. Past
champions include Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and
Phil Mickelson.
www.golfqueensland.org.au
Winter 2017
Q Golf 17