Champions Tour Insider: Wadkins' back in the game

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Lanny Wadkins has endured four back surgeries -- including a six-hour procedure -- over the past few years.

Lanny Wadkins is climbing hills, walking miles through rocks and cactus. If you ask him, he'll probably do a little Texas two-step and maybe cap the routine with a high kick.

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Not bad for a guy who not long ago was having trouble walking from the kitchen to the dining room.

This is a big week for Wadkins. He's doing something he has wanted to do for a very long time. Play golf. Lots of golf.

"I need to play some holes," Wadkins said a few days ago while preparing for this week's trip to Florida, where the plan was to play every day and see how his improving back holds up.

It's been nearly a year now, since last April, that Wadkins has been stuck at home nursing a back that simply refused to respond. One back operation, then another and finally a third.

The first two operations were in 2007.

"Not successful, to say the least," Wadkins said.

They were followed by a third.

"Still in a lot of pain," he said. "And the pain just got worse and worse. I couldn't stand up for five minutes. It was just horrible ... very debilitating."

The fourth operation in the sequence came last August 20 at the Texas Back Institute. In a moment, you'll understand why Wadkins so vividly remembers the date. He was double-teamed by Dr. Rob Dickerman, a neurosurgeon, and Dr. Scott Blumental, an orthopedic surgeon. The double-fusion procedure required six hours -- Wadkins now has titanium screws in his driver and his back - and involved nerve work.

"Five months and one week ago," Wadkins said. "I had X-rays taken (last Monday) and the doctors said the back looks like what people look like in a year. They said I'm the quickest healing patient they've seen."

Wadkins was hitting driver in December and bookmarked this week for his first rounds of semi-serious golf.

"I'm excited," said Wadkins, acknowledging at the same time he doesn't know quite what to expect when he gets on the course.

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Lanny (right) and his brother Bobby are both members of the Champions Tour.

But he's definitely planning on getting back on the Champions Tour sooner rather than later. The Allianz Championship, Feb. 13-15, at The Old Course at Broken Sound in Boca Raton, Florida, is on his schedule.

"I'm excited to be getting out of the house," he said. "I've got to have something to do."

The only thing that has made life bearable since last April is the opportunity to watch his sons, Travis, 21, who plays golf at Wake Forest, and Tucker, 16, a high school sophomore, excel at the game.

Wadkins' Florida golf trip was set up by a friend in Boca, who arranged for the club champion at the host club to play in the group.

"I told him, 'He'll beat me like a tom tom -- I haven't played,'" Wadkins said.

Truth is, Wadkins has hit the ball solidly in his practice sessions and his driver has been "solid, with decent distance.

"What I need now is to play holes, rounds of golf," he said.

What is especially encouraging is that Wadkins can hit balls and still feel good enough to go out and putt for an hour. The back doesn't lock-up.

"No problem," he said. "Shows everything is in good shape. The doctors did an amazing job."

Wadkins, the 1977 PGA Champion, is 59. He arrived on the Champions Tour in 2000, a few weeks after his 50th birthday, and won his first start, the ACE Group Classic. He made it look easy. He became the ninth player ever to win his Champions Tour debut when he defeated Tom Watson, Walter Hall and Jose Maria Canizares in a playoff. Wadkins rallied from three strokes back with a final round 8-under-par 64.

But health problems started to get in the way and he left to do television commentary.

"When I first came on the Champions Tour I was pretty much pain-free," Wadkins said.

Then he suffered from tendinitis in his left elbow, the television gig followed and the focus was diverted away from golf. Now he's revived, energized and, most important of all, feeling healthy.

"I feel like this is my best chance in a long time," Wadkins said.

Champions Tour Insider Notes:

• In seven seasons when Wadkins has played at least 10 events on the Champions Tour, his statistics have been remarkably consistent. The driving distance numbers have ranged from a low of 257.5 (10 events, 2003) to a high of 266.6 (12 events, 2005).

• Wadkins best driving accuracy percentage was 71.2 in 2003 (10 events) and his best putting average was 1.766 in 2003. In 2000, his most active season, Wadkins averaged 262 yards off the tee with 65.7 percent accuracy and a putting average of 1.770.

• It should come as no surprise that Champions Tour distance king Tom Purtzer led the field in driving in the season-opening event in Hawaii with 309.5 yards. But it may come as a surprise that No. 4 on the distance parade was Jeff Sluman at 298.7 yards, behind No. 2 Bernhard Langer (302.7) and No. 3 Bart Bryant (302.5).

• Sluman tied for third in driving accuracy with Hale Irwin (85.71 percent) behind Allen Doyle (90.48). Sluman also was No. 3 in the scrambling category behind Ben Crenshaw and Mark McNulty.