Ex-Texas Tech golfer continues comeback at this week’s U.S. Women’s Open

The initial lump, spotted by a personal trainer, surfaced while Laurie Brower was competing at an LPGA Tour event in 2000.

A subsequent test showed it to be insignificant, from a medical standpoint. But the same mammogram identified another mass that confirmed Brower’s deepest fear: She had breast cancer.

Although the tumor was safely removed, the experience proved instrumental in Brower’s decision to walk away from an injury-plagued professional golf career. After the 2002 season, the former Texas Tech golfer left the LPGA Tour and returned to Lubbock, where she works as a golf instructor and a fundraiser for Tech’s women’s athletics department.

Daily duties at both of those jobs will be set aside this week, however, while Brower, 44, competes in the U.S. Women’s Open.

With help from Lubbock-based sponsors and swing coach Amy Fox, who works at Tierra Verde Golf Course in Arlington, Brower will take the latest, and boldest, step in her return to competitive golf in Thursday’s opening round at Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minn.

"When I left the tour, I didn’t leave on my terms," said Brower, who earned a spot in this week’s field by finishing second at a 36-hole sectional qualifier in Garland on June 9.

"My mind said I could still do it, but I was tired all the time."

Six years later and back to peak health, Brower said she longs to fulfill a dream and send a message to others who have experienced challenges in their lives.

"If you still think you can do it, follow your dreams. Go for it," Brower said. "That thought consumed me every hour for the past six months."

Starting this week, Brower seeks to write a different final chapter to a golf career that has been interrupted, at various times, for the following reasons:

Surgery, at age 17, to remove a melanoma from her knee.

Wrist surgery, followed by an 18-month rehabilitation period, after competing in the 1986 LPGA Tour qualifying tournament.

A 2 1/2 -year stint as the primary caregiver for her dying mother, who was stricken with brain cancer.

Her own breast cancer surgery in 2000.

Surgery in 2001 to remove a cyst on her ring finger that caused nerve inflammation.

Mix in two non-golf incidents from her childhood — Brower was run over by a car at 2 and survived a plane crash in the Pacific Ocean at 9 — and she’s developed quite a survival instinct.

That’s a trait Ken Taggart, one of her Lubbock-based sponsors, is counting on to fuel her comeback.

Taggart and his wife, Susan, pitched the idea of funding Brower’s comeback after noticing her competitive side in November 2007. Brower and Susan were paired against Ken and one of his friends in a match when Brower rallied, after driving into a fairway bunker on the 18th hole, to post a birdie that gave the women’s team a victory — and a story Susan still relishes telling.

Ken Taggart raised the sponsorship idea over dinner later that night.

"My challenge was to light a fire under her and have her know she’s good enough to play with those girls," said Taggart, who owns seven McDonald’s stores in the Lubbock area. "She didn’t leave the game because she couldn’t play. She left because of injuries and obligations to others. I wanted to see her take another shot at it ... because I know from experience that, when she gets pressed, she can respond. We’re behind her 100 percent."

The idea intrigued Brower, who runs a charity tournament in Lubbock that has raised more than $60,000 for breast cancer research the past two years. By February, Brower said she had done enough sit-ups and stretching exercises to consider a comeback "attainable." So she called Fox, a longtime friend who has tutored multiple LPGA Tour players, including Saginaw resident Angela Stanford.

Fox said she was "surprised" by Brower’s plans but happy to help hone her swing. Brower said Fox’s input has tightened her backswing and improved her club position at impact.

Fox said Brower has made major strides since May 23, when she missed the cut by one stroke at the Corning Classic in her lone LPGA Tour appearance since 2002.

"She could be the surprise story of this year’s Open, like Rocco Mediate was for the men," said Fox, who will join Brower and the Taggarts in Minnesota for tournament rounds. "I really think she’ll do well. She’s focused, she hits it far enough and her strength is putting."

She’s also fearless, a byproduct of her past experiences.

"I’ve been through all the bad stuff," Brower said. "I survived breast cancer. I survived a plane crash. There’s no more [health] issues, so I’m not going to let anything keep me down."

Asked about her expectations this week, Brower said, "I’d like to win. I think I can win. I’m not going there to finish last. ... If you look at my career, you’d say, 'That girl doesn’t have game.’ But I think I was always just an instructor or an injury away from doing something special."

After six years of waiting, Brower hopes this is the week.

Time on the tour

Laurie Brower, 44, has ended a six-year hiatus from the LPGA Tour to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open. A look at the LPGA playing record for the former Texas Tech golfer and breast cancer survivor:

Year	Events	Cuts made	Scoring avg.
1992	23	9	74.62
1993	16	8	73.56
1994	9	5	72.68
1995	18	12	73.80
1996	24	13	73.14
1997	25	8	74.06
1998	7	4	73.80
1999	12	4	75.96
2000	5	2	73.50
2001	22	8	74.02
2002	14	4	73.94
2008	1	0	73.50

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