Nexo Championship leader on DP World Tour shows he's made of Sterne stuff - on and off the course

Oh, and wait until you hear what the six-time DP World Tour winner has overcome in terms of operations off the course over the past few years to even be playing in the biggest event to be held on Donald Trump’s Old Course at Menie Estate in Aberdeenshire.

“How long have you got?” said Sterne, a 43-year-old South African, in reply to being asked about injuries he mentioned in a TV interview after signing for a superb bogey-free effort in challenging conditions, with tournament organisers deserving the praise that was being widely offered about a decision to move a total of seven tees forward, including the one at the par-5 18th by three sets.

“I’ve had three wrist surgeries since 2020 and I have a titanium disc in my lower back where they had to come through the front,” he added. “That was two years ago. I’ve been out for four of the last five years. I’m just trying to get back.

“It’s been many, many hours in the gym trying to get my body able to play again. It wasn’t that promising that I would play again with the back the way it was but, touch wood, it’s good. My wrist was more of a worry. It’s the left wrist. I’m not the player I was. It’s tough with all the injuries. I didn’t hit a ball for 22 months. You can imagine trying to come back from that. It’s been a tough year. There’s still some pain, but it’s playable. It’s not as bad as it was.”

In 16 events this season, Sterne has only made four cuts. He’s 156th in the Race to Dubai and is outside the top 1,000 in the Official World Golf Ranking. This was more like it, though, from a player who landed his breakthrough win in the Madrid Open and recorded the most recent of his title triumphs in the 2013 Joburg Open. It could be light at the end of a long, dark tunnel.

“Absolutely,” he replied to being asked if he had thought about having to give up the game. “The wrist procedure was a scaphoid ligament, which tore and they fixed it and then it tore again. So that was another nine, ten months out. The wrist is a hell of a thing to operate on as it’s the main hand for me. The back was actually an easier recovery. They did my wrist three times. I also tore the TFCC (Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex) in my wrist which is one of the main ligaments.

“When I was getting the third wrist surgery I said just do my back as well because I’d had 20 years of it really. I could always play but it got so bad, I couldn't even swing a club. After I had my wrist done for a third time, I was out for another nine months, so I thought I may as well do my back now.

“It’s been good. I would have pain down my leg, I was living on painkillers. It was not fun. The only way I could see myself playing again was to take the chance with surgery. I’ve spent 100s of hours recovering and I’m still doing it.”

In a round that started at the par-5 tenth, Sterne opened with a birdie before making an even better 4 straight back into the draft at the 18th then another one at the first. He was particularly pleased with the iron shot that set up another gain at the par-3 fourth before capping an outstanding day’s work with a 3 at the seventh.

“Yes, I’m not going to have another procedure,” he said, smiling, as he reflected on the physical and mental toll he has faced in recent years. “I still want to play. I’m doing everything I can to get back playing. I actually enjoy it more the older I get. I wish I had the same mentality and attitude when I was younger as I do now. But that’s life.

“You learn as you get older. I’ve been out here a long time. It would be nice to play like I did today for the rest of the year to build some confidence. I enjoyed today. You had to hit some really good iron shots. I hit some that I’ve been working on and they came off, so that gives me confidence, too.”

At the start of the day, the wind was blowing from the south-east before moving to the south-west just as Sterne and the others in the morning wave were finishing their rounds then picking up considerably during the afternoon. “The wind was not excessive, but it was testing,” said the pacesetter. “You can see that in the scores. They set it up fairly which was good. It’s demanding, lots of trouble.”

As he discovered in that chastening practice round. “I lost eight balls,” he reported, smiling. “It was chaos on Tuesday. Some guys played nine holes and then stopped. But I thought, ‘bugger it, I’ll go and play’. I nearly ran out of balls.”

Sterne tied for second in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in 2016, having also finished joint-sixth in 2003 and 2014 at Carnoustie, KIngsbarns and St Andrews. “Maybe links golf is better for me,” he said, smiling again. “I need to have some good performances and it’s been a tough year. I’ve got a long stretch in front of me and I need to put something together. There’s still a long way to go here, but, hopefully, I have a chance going into the weekend.”

At the end of a day when only 26 players finished under par, his closest challengers are fellow South Africans Thomas Aiken and Louis Albertse and Norwegian Andreas Halvorsen. Aiken and Halvorson carded matching 68s in the same morning group, while Albertse came in with his four-under effort later in the day.