Aussie Rules

Longtime LPGA Tour member Sarah Kemp walked behind the cart to grab her driver, took one step, and the next thing she remembers is being pinned between her cart and another. There was screaming from her wife, Lisa Cornwell, as well as the driver of the other cart, and panic ensued. Kemp had been struck at full speed by the other cart and was pinned between the two carts, her right leg bleeding and mangled. 

Kemp was playing golf last summer with Cornwell, her wife of nearly five years, and a longtime friend. On the 13th hole, Cornwell and Kemp, who were riding together, arrived at the tee well ahead of their friend (the couple asked me not to name the friend), who was riding alone and had stopped to fill her water bottle. Minutes later, a firetruck and an ambulance were on the scene, and Kemp was rushed to a hospital, before being sent to another for emergency surgery. 

For the first time in her adult life, Kemp faced the possibility of life without professional golf. 

There aren't many grinders on the LPGA Tour because the money just isn't good enough. But Kemp is among a small group of them. After a decorated amateur career in Australia, she turned pro and quickly won during her rookie year on the Australian Tour. The following year, she earned Ladies European Tour status and promptly rattled off one excellent finish after another. 

Wins outside of Australia have eluded her, but Kemp has made more than 200 starts on the LPGA Tour and another 150 on the Ladies European Tour, with a combined 44 top 10s. But it hasn’t been easy. The success she enjoyed early in her career turned into years of grinding just to maintain her playing status. 

Even in the years Kemp struggled to keep her LPGA card, or traveled to Europe to maintain status somewhere, her love for the game never wavered. 

It is what made the accident so hard to accept. She was 39, and as she laid in bed, for the first time Kemp faced the possibility of a future without professional golf. "I just want to play golf,” Kemp told me through tears. “There isn't a Plan B. There has never been a Plan B.” 

The accident happened on Aug. 10. The next day, Kemp was scheduled to fly to one of her favorite events, the Scottish Open. Two events earlier, in Toledo, Ohio she had finished T-7 and played her way into the field in Scotland, which only took the top 70 players from the LPGA. The week after Scotland, she planned to attempt to qualify for the Open Championship. 

On the morning of the 10th, she went for a run with her friend. Over the previous few years, Kemp had grown to love running, so much so that she might run multiple 5Ks in a week. Cornwell stayed back and made breakfast for everyone before the three headed to Orange Tree Golf Club in Orlando. 

The sky was blue, and although it was sweltering hot, as it often is during the Florida summer, the group was in good spirits. Music was played on a speaker, and Kemp, buoyed by her recent good play, was looking forward to her trip across the pond. 

That all changed on the 13th tee.

After the accident Kemp had emergency surgery at Orlando Health Hospital, where a metal rod and five screws were inserted. The rod stabilized both her fibula and tibia in her right leg. To make matters worse it was a compound fracture, making the risk of infection much higher. 

Kemp went home a few days later. As we spoke on the phone last week, she became emotional. "I'm sorry," she said between long pauses filled with the sound of crying. She explained she was talking with me from her bedroom, where she had spent almost every minute of those first two months. "I couldn't bathe or go to the toilet properly,” she said. “I relied on Lisa for everything."

Kemp's emotion continued as we spoke about her longtime friend who had driven the cart that struck her. Kemp informed me the friendship had unfortunately ended. “Not because of the accident, but how things were handled after. She sent a few text messages initially but a week later I woke up to post on social media of her finishing her longest run ever. It hurt. We really needed help, physically and mentally. The whole situation is just sad.” 

Doctors repeatedly assured Kemp that she would play again, and that became her motivation during those miserable rehab appointments. She made a putt in early winter on her indoor mat. She was more determined than ever. 

Putting led to chipping before she finally graduated to full swings on the range. In November, she played six holes. Although her leg was swollen (doctors said that was normal), it felt like it was slowly healing. In January, she walked 18 holes for the first time. 

During that round at Orange Tree, Kemp walked onto the 13th tee for the first time since the accident. "I bawled my eyes out," she said. 

The focus turned to her LPGA return and earning enough points for a medical exemption. Players on medical exemptions get three warmup starts before their first LPGA event. 

First, Kemp played a mini-tour event in Florida, where she finished fifth. The result was mostly inconsequential. The bigger news was that she walked 54 holes. 

Next, Kemp headed to her native Australia for a European Tour event. It was her first event in her homeland in two years, and friends and family followed her all week. Again, the goal was to walk 54 holes. The priorities changed after a second-round 62, and she headed into the final round with the lead. She signed for a final-round 74 and finished 4th, but that couldn’t dampen her spirits. 

The following week produced another victory, though again not in the form of a trophy. This time Kemp walked 72 holes without major complications.

She was ready for her return to the LPGA. 

That came at the Ford Championship in Scottsdale, Ariz. A made cut would mean valuable points toward her medical exemption, and as an LPGA member, it would make her eligible for the reshuffle. 

Cornwell caddied. After opening with a 70, Kemp struggled a bit on Friday and came to the back nine three off what she thought would be the cut. She found her groove on the back nine with birdies on four of her last eight holes to make the cut by one. 

It came almost seven months to the day she had been pinned between the two carts, both her tibia and fibula crushed. It had been a long road back and while there is more work to be done, she and Cornwell understandably wanted to savor the made cut. 

That night, they sat on the side of the pool, their legs dangling in the water. They talked about the last seven months. They laughed, and they cried. 

Kemp finished T-62. The made cut means she will be in most full-field events for the rest of the season.. 

Another minor surgery will soon be scheduled for this winter, to remove the screws, which cause her pain. Every morning, Kemp "hobbles like I'm 80" for the first hour of the day. The cold doesn't help, but she is playing golf again, back doing what she loves. 

Sarah Kemp is back on the LPGA Tour, too, just as she has been since 2008. There is still no Plan B.