Dialysis won’t keep golfer from tournament

August 27, 2008 - 1:45PM

Dialysis won’t keep golfer from tournament

Bill Huffman, For the Tribune

No matter who wins next week’s U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Milwaukee Country Club, there will no better profile in courage than that of John Urquhart, a former East Valley pro who recently returned to the amateur ranks.

Urquhart (pronounced “Er-kart’’) has been going through the painful process of kidney dialysis while waiting for a fit from a national organ-donor list. That he recently qualified to play in the national championship for amateur golfers who are 25-and-over was just short of a miracle. Fortunately, Urquhart has been pulling off miracles ever since being diagnosed with kidney failure in April, 2006.

“I haven’t had many expectations since I was diagnosed, but now qualifying for the national championship gives me something to look forward to,’’ said the 35-year-old former Cave Creek resident, who recently moved back to Phoenix in order to expedite his dialysis. He undergoes treatment from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

“As for how I’m going to play (in the Mid-Amateur) and undergo dialysis at the same time — and I have to do it or I’ll die — well, that will be interesting. They’re trying to line it up for me (in Milwaukee), but I’m not sure how it’s all going to work if I make it to match play and have to play 36 holes in one day. I might appeal, and see if I can get the ol’ Casey Martin (use of a cart), because, technically, I’m disabled.’’

Urquhart did walk and carry his bag at Pine Canyon Golf Club in Flagstaff, where he qualified earlier this month right on the number with a 70. Still, he wonders what will happen at the Mid-Amateur on the days he must undergo dialysis.

“It’s hard to play right after dialysis, because I’m completely wiped out,’’ he said of the machine that filters toxins out of his blood through an opening on his wrist. “It’s like I have the flu, and just want to crawl in bed.

“So I play Tuesdays and Thursdays, and sometimes on Wednesdays and Fridays if I can gut it out. Up in Flagstaff, I played a practice round on Monday, collapsed from (the dialysis) earlier in the day, and then woke up the next morning and did the deal.’’

It hasn’t always been such a nightmare for Urquhart. Growing up at Encanto Golf Course in Phoenix, he was an outstanding player at Phoenix Central High School who earned a scholarship to Grand Canyon University, where he was the runner-up at the NAIA Championship in 1991. His game was good enough to turn pro, and even though he failed to qualify for the PGA Tour in 1999, he did become an assistant at Desert Mountain Golf Course before eventually returning to “the real world.’’

But in 2006, while transitioning between jobs, Urquhart made a critical mistake: He failed to pick up a COBRA insurance policy that covers the interim.

“That’s when I got hit with the kidney failure,’’ he said of the auto-immune condition that traps antibodies in his kidneys and keeps them from shutting off. “My blood pressure was 224 over 142 by the time I got to the hospital. I should have already stroked.

“They told me my kidneys were completely shot and that I needed to start dialysis immediately or I’d be dead in less than 30 days. ... I’ve been waiting for a transplant for two years now. Really, it’s hard to sleep. But fortunately I’m in a nice clinic — North Scottsdale Dialysis.’’

Two months ago, Urquhart got his amateur status back in an effort to put “something positive back into my life.’’

“I’ve lost quite a bit of my game, especially when I get to the 14th or 15th hole,’’ said Urquhart, who plays and practices at Talking Stick Golf Club in Scottsdale. “But it’s helping me get through this thing.’’

Scott Reid, who has been friends with Urquhart since they were 12 and played on the same team with him at Grand Canyon, said he didn’t know that Urquhart got his amateur status back. Neither did his old boss at Desert Mountain, Dick Hyland, until he read it in the Tribune.

“Good for John, because he always did have a lot of natural talent,’’ Reid said. “He was so good, but things just happened, and in the end he probably never took advantage of (his talent). Now he is, and that’s remarkable.’’

Added Hyland: “The fact he’s alive, has gone through all this stuff, and still managed to make to the Mid-Amateur, that’s pretty cool stuff.’’

Obviously, Urquhart has been through hell. And when I asked him that very question, he replied: “You don’t know the half of it.’’

That’s probably true, but most of us understand what he has accomplished lately, and how he’s so determined to “gut it out’’ next week when the Mid-Amateur starts its six-day run Sept. 6.

Asked if he’s sure he’ll be able to make it to the starting gate, Urquhart’s one-word answer mirrored his spirit these days.

“Absolutely,’’ he said.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/124198