Charlie Beljan Struggles through Physical Ailment to Win at Disney

Courtesy of PGATour.com

Fighting desperately for his 2013 TOUR card, PGA TOUR Pro Charlie Beljan had everything on the line last week when he was struck with severe shortness of breath and an alarmingly elevated heart rate.  It was painful at times to watch as Beljan almost didn’t finish his round Friday after leading the field at the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic.  Beljan struggled to catch his breath multiple times, walking around, and even sitting on some fairways as medical staff followed closely behind.  Not even taking the time to line up his putts on the last few holes, Charlie, through shear willpower was amazingly able to finish all 18.  Immediately after the round Beljan was taken to a local hospital where doctors found no major issues but advised the golfer not to play for the rest of the week.

Beljan came into the final tournament at 139 on the money list and needed to finish in the top 125 to earn his TOUR card for 2013.  A withdrawal on Friday would have cost Beljan the tournament and his job next year.   With less than an hour sleep after his release from the hospital, Beljan returned to the course on Saturday to continue the tournament.

“Every day I drove underneath that Disney sign coming in here that said, ‘Where dreams come true,’ and that’s just what happened this week,” Beljan said after closing with 69 for a two-shot win. “And I’m so grateful and so honored.”

In the end, Beljan jumped to 63 on the money list and earned his TOUR card for 2013. “It was incredible,” Beljan said. “I was happy that I was a PGA TOUR champion.  I was happy that my wife and my baby were here.  It still isn’t real.”

Hats are off to Charlie Beljan for hanging in there and playing his best golf with the cards stacked against him.  We at Golficity would like to wish Charlie the best of luck on PGA TOUR next year.

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