Notes: Hart mending, Davis getting healthy

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PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Former Honda Classic champion Dudley Hart is following up his worst season off the course with an impressive start to 2008.

Dudley Hart is enjoying a fine start to 2008. (Dunn/WireImage)

This year he's playing on a Major Medical Exemption because his wife Suzanne was diagnosed last May with a softball-sized tumor in her lungs and Hart took the rest of the year off.

At the start of the 2008 season, Hart had 15 events to earn $485,931. Once added to the $299,249 he earned in 2007 prior to his wife's surgery, that would give him $785,180 (equal to 125th on last year's money list).

He has already made $322, 971 in just three events -- Hart tied for third at his last tournament, the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am -- so he only has $162,960 to go.

"Believe it or not, I don't think about it at all...because the way I look at it is, I've got 12 events counting this week. If I play like I know I can play -- I may not play well every week -- but I'll have enough decent weeks where that shouldn't be a problem."

The 39-year-old father of triplets took his season off to be Mr. Mom while Suzanne recovered. The family lives in Buffalo, N.Y., but the former University of Florida Gator flew south to train in December after his long hiatus.

Hart had five birdies in his first round at PGA National and hit the green in regulation 78 percent of the time. Although today caused little complaint on the course, his wife's recent struggle gave him a new outlook away from the links.

"I don't really carry bad rounds with me as long as I used to. You realize that a lot worse things can happen to you than playing a bad round of golf."

Sneeze, Crack, Pop

It may be customary to say "bless you" after a sneeze, but Brian Davis' sneeze prior to the 2007 Children's Miracle Network Classic presented by Wal-Mart was anything but a blessing.

Sneezing is no laughing matter for Brian Davis. (Ernst/WireImage)

He'd been having problems with his neck for months. It felt tight, his swing felt funny and thus he wasn't happy. When he woke up before the first round at the season's final event, Davis sneezed.

Crack! Davis heard his neck pop as he herniated two discs.

"I wouldn't have played if it had been the middle of the season, but because it was the last event I just carried on and just got through the round somehow, and unfortunately it was quite a long road back."

He did physiotherapy during the off-season until his neck began to feel better. Something must have clicked into place, since the Englishman is at the top of the leaderboard at The Honda Classic.

Davis used a bogey-free round at the start of the tournament to charge up the ranks and sit one shot back of leader and fellow countryman Luke Donald. His 65 on Thursday was his lowest round yet this season, one in which he's missed three of five cuts.

Davis turned pro back in 1994 and, though he hasn't won on the PGA TOUR, he does have two international victories. Despite injuring himself at the end of the year, 2007 was his best TOUR season to date with three top-10 finishes. He also earned over $1-million for the first time in his career.

Off the course was another story. In addition to the freakish neck injury, he had to fly home to Orlando immediately prior to the Stanford St. Jude Championship when his wife and two kids were rushed to the hospital because of a carbon monoxide leak in their house.

This year, he plans to focus on recovering and playing golf.

"I'm about 80 percent strength, and you know, it still niggles a little bit but everything is better. It's more a case of getting strength. We all want to hit the ball hard. As we all know, it's a bomber's game now and you can't afford not to," Davis said.

"The problem is hitting hard every time puts a strain on me. I'm not a long hitter. I'm usually straight, so for me I need everything. It's been tough in that respect, but, you know, obviously, I'm getting stronger and looking forward to the next few weeks."