When Charlie Beljan turned on his phone following Sunday’s win at the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic, he was stunned. The 193 waiting text messages caught him off guard, but after reading each one, Beljan had to laugh, saying he never knew there were so many doctors in the world.
“Everyone had a diagnosis,” he said. “Each was different, but each claimed to be right. Everybody knew what was wrong with me and how to fix me. That was hilarious.”
A week earlier, no one had been the least bit interested in Beljan’s health. He’d made it to Orlando for the PGA TOUR’s season-ending event at Disney World by way of the best airfare he could find. While his wife and infant son were at home in Mesa, Ariz., he was comfortable in a modest Orlando hotel where he collected points for free stays. The “Waffle” was good to go.
Beljan’s goal was also a modest one. If he could just make the cut and finish high enough to climb inside the top 125 on the money list from his perch at No. 139, he’d be good for another year.
Of course, then there was the panic attack in the second round that unraveled on TV over the inward nine like a gnarly lag putt. That’s when things got downright odd. People sat on the edge of their seats at home, staring at the screen as they did when Ivan Drago landed that punishing, seemingly last blow to Rocky Balboa in “Rocky IV.”
Live video of Beljan lying flat on his back in the fairway produced surreal images for a television audience the world over. Was he dying? Would he be able to get up? Would he finish?
