Back for Another Round: A PGA Golfer’s Recovery Story

A lifelong golfer, Wendy’s livelihood as a PGA professional was suddenly in question after she tore her hamstring playing paddle tennis.

“My foot got caught on the grit of the court and I tore my hamstring completely off my pelvis,” said Wendy. “I wasn’t able to walk at all.”

For the Wilton resident, the only silver lining was that the injury occurred during her offseason. She was in the midst of her four-month break as a golf professional at Fenway Golf Club in Scarsdale, where she has worked for 18 years.
“I didn’t know what was going to happen or what the next season would hold for me,” she said.

Wendy heard about ONS through a dear friend and colleague, Vicki Tananbaum, Vice President of the ONS Foundation for Clinical Research and Education, who suggested she see Dr. Paul Tomaszewski, orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist at ONS. He took an MRI which confirmed what they both already suspected – that the hamstring was completely torn off the bone and the only treatment option was re-attachment surgery.

“I was able to undergo the surgery at ONS’ ambulatory surgery center in Stamford only two weeks after the injury occurred,” recalled Wendy.

“ONS was fantastic. It’s one stop for everything – they made everything easy from scheduling the surgery to post-operative physical therapy,” she said, adding that another benefit was the convenient locations across Fairfield County where ONS offers care.

After her successful surgery, Wendy was diligent about physical therapy and working out, which led to a strong recovery. Now, 9 months out, she has qualified for the USGA U.S. Senior Women’s Open which is being played August 25-28 at NCR Country Club in Kettering, Ohio.

This will be Wendy’s fourth start in a USGA championship, after competing in the 1989 U.S. Women’s Amateur and 1993 and 2006 U.S. Women’s Opens. She has been a member of the PGA of America for 25 years.

“I’m very thankful that I met Dr. Tomaszewski,” said Wendy who described him as accessible, thoughtful and thorough. “Coincidentally, we realized that I had given both his mother and grandmother golf lessons at Fenway in the past!”