NEWS AND NOTES
College Aces Put Future Plans on Hold
Posted: Wed November 12, 1997
Brad Elder and Marisa Baena, the 1997 men's and women's college
players of the year, have always wanted to be professional
golfers. However, after recently coming down with mysterious
ailments, both players face uncertain futures.
Early in the fall, Elder learned that he has Kienbock's disease,
a rare vascular condition that has impeded the flow of blood to
his right wrist. If the wrist goes untreated, the Texas senior,
who was runner-up in the NCAA championships in June and was 4-0
in last August's Walker Cup, could lose the use of his hand.
"There's some blood getting to it, so it's not completely dying,
and there's hope," Elder says. "But the doctors have told me
they've never seen the disease this early [in a patient's life]."
The 22-year-old Elder has sought opinions from doctors in
Alabama, California, Georgia and Texas since Sept. 15, when the
pain got so bad that he quit midway through a practice round at
Texas. His doctors, though, have been unable to reach a
consensus on how to treat the condition. Elder hopes to avoid
surgery because it might decrease the mobility in his hand, and
there's no guarantee it would provide a cure. For now he wears a
cast that extends from his hand to just below his elbow and has
electrical stimulation therapy for at least 12 hours a day.
After finishing 28th at the Mercedes-Benz Women's Championship
in Knoxville, Tenn., in late September, Baena, the Arizona
junior who was also the '96 college player of the year,
complained of severe pain in her left shoulder. Doctors,
however, have been unable to pinpoint why she is experiencing so
much discomfort. Baena, who hasn't hit a golf ball in seven
weeks, will sit out at least the rest of the fall. "If you want
to have a long career," says Arizona coach Rick LaRose, "you
have to take care of these things when they happen and make sure
you're well for the long haul."
Issue date: November 17, 1997
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