Gary Hurley is prepared to put his right shoulder through the pain barrier but performances like this week will help him on the road to recovery from parsonage turner syndrome.
Hurley, who hadn’t played in over a year until making the cut last week backed that up today at the Circa Cape Town Open as he flirted with victory before ultimately finishing solo 9th on 11-under with a 69, three shots behind Will Enefer.
“I’m very pleased with how I’m doing,” said Hurley after his round which moves him up 44 places into 15th on the Road to Mallorca Rankings.
“I haven’t played competitive golf in over a year until last week so to make the cut last week and be kind of in the mix going down the stretch there this time was a nice feeling.”
The West Waterford man is scheduled to compete in the final two South African swing events as he looks to test his right shoulder under the scrutiny of four successive events which he hopes will give him sixteen consecutive competitive rounds as he battles to regain full fitness and full health after missing the entirety of the 2025 season.
“My game feels good. It felt good before coming down here. I wouldn’t have come if I felt I couldn’t compete physically. I felt like I could so I was kind of coming down to see how the shoulder would hold up over four weeks in a row so to get eight rounds in the first two tournaments it seems to be holding up OK so we will see over the next two weeks so that will be four in a row. If I get through four in a row I know it’s decent.
“I’m very happy with where I am in my game I’m very happy with the support my team have given me and my sponsors. Taking a year out is tough, I didn’t plan on that I thought a few months and I would be better, it didn’t get better. The doctors kept telling me that nerve damage is the longest thing in the body to heal, just takes forever. It was a rollercoaster year but I’m glad to be back and happy with how I’m playing.
“I can feel that my right shoulder hangs really low. I know it’s not right but I have figured out how to manage it I can hit the ball really good and hit a lot of good shots. I practiced a lot with my short game when I was off and it has improved so yeah, I’m happy.”
Meanwhile, Liam Nolan and Conor Purcell shared 27th place on six-under after rounds of 72 and 69 respectively.
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