PGA Tour golfer, Beaufort resident Mark Anderson back in swing
The lessons continue for Mark Anderson as he prepares for another season of professional golf.
The most recent was the most painful.
Anderson fell from a ladder in May while changing a light bulb. The fall cost the Beaufort resident the rest of the PGA Tour season and didn't allow him to practice his trade in full until September.
"As far as I'm concerned, I don't need to be getting back on any ladders," Anderson said Monday.
He will try to climb back into competitive golf this week when his 2014-15 season begins at the McGladrey Classic on St. Simons Island. Anderson was a first alternate over the weekend and learned Monday morning he was in the field.
An easy trip and familiar course made the event a lock for his return. He played Sea Island's Seaside course while on the South Carolina golf team and tied for 51st at McGladrey in 2012.
Anderson, who earned $122,598 on the PGA Tour last year while making three cuts before his injury, said he has been playing well since his recovery.
"I'm excited to see how I can take that play at home to play in an actual tournament, because it's quite a bit different," Anderson said. "But I think I learned quite a bit in the time I was hurt, so hopefully I can apply some of those lessons to my golf game out here."
Anderson first earned his PGA Tour card for the 2012 season, after finishing in the top-25 on the Web.com Tour money list the previous year. He returned to the Web.com Tour for 2013 before earning back his PGA Tour card with the help of his first professional victory, a romp at the BMW Charity Pro-Am in Greenville.
He missed his first five cuts of 2014 before something started to click. And then he fell.
Anderson was 15 feet up on a ladder at his home when both tumbled to the ground. He tore ligaments in his right ankle and suffered bruising.
The PGA Tour deemed the injury to have cost him seven events, and so he will have status for seven events on the 2014-15 schedule.
He had low priority for the McGladrey and planned to play a Monday qualifier if he did not get in. Anderson said he hopes to play one more event this fall and then plan his schedule for next year.
"It's been a tough five months, but I'm glad that it's finally over," Anderson said. "And hopefully I can get off to a good start the first few events I get into, and we'll go from there and see what happens."
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This story was originally published October 21, 2014 at 10:39 PM with the headline "PGA Tour golfer, Beaufort resident Mark Anderson back in swing."