British Open 2024: After leukemia diagnosis, Kiwi pro gets second chance at life and playing in links major

TROON, Scotland — On July 19 last year, New Zealand's Michael Hendry was watching the pre-tournament coverage of the British Open at Royal Liverpool from the couch in Auckland with chemotherapy drugs coursing through his veins. A shock leukemia diagnosis 10 weeks earlier forced him to give up the spot he had earned via the Asian Tour for the 151st Open.

A year later, and in remission, the 44-year-old Japan Tour veteran could only feel adrenaline in his body as he teed up with three fellow Kiwis in a practice round Tuesday at Royal Troon. His journey back to the links major is a candidate for the biggest feel-good story of the 152nd Open Championship, a tournament he says helped save his life.

“July 19 last year, I’d managed to get out of hospital, but I was laying on the couch, 14 kilograms [30 pounds] lighter and battling to walk up the stairs at home,” Hendry said Tuesday at Troon.

In March 2023, Hendry had finished second at an Asian Tour event in Hong Kong, which earned him a spot in The Open at Hoylake through the championship’s global qualifying series. But Hendry was constantly fighting the feeling of a cold coming on for weeks, while he noticed a lump on his chin. When he traveled to Australia for a tournament, he began to feel tired enough to sleep for more than 12 hours a day.

By April, tests in Auckland had shown he had leukemia. By mid-May, it was confirmed, and Hendry posted an emotional image of his player badge for the 151st Open on social media with devastating confirmation of his diagnosis and that he had to remove himself from a third career appearance at the Open.

“Before the Open last year, the R&A had told me if I could get myself healthy, they’d grant me a spot [medical exemption] for this year,” Hendry said. “It was sad and annoying watching the coverage, but also motivating to get back knowing I had a spot. It was huge, and it really helped me get through the treatments.”

Those treatments were horrific. Hendry was undergoing chemotherapy while trying to regain weight and muscle with his strength and conditioning coach in Auckland. “I’d do a session with my trainer, throw up and either rest or keep training,” Hendry said.

There were dark moments. When Hendry’s diagnosis came through, his wife, Tara, and their two daughters, Maddison, 8 at the time, and Harper, 5, were more than 600 miles away attending a family wedding in Christchurch. Hours after the ceremony, Hendry confirmed the news to his wife over the phone. The couple waited until their children returned from a week of school holidays before sharing the devastating news.

“That was the toughest part; I’d stare at photos of my kids and wonder how unfair it would be if they had to grow up without a father,” Hendry said, his voice cracking.

Messages of support flooded in from pros, caddies and officials from around the golf world, including countrymen like Steve Williams, Tiger Woods’ former caddie, and former PGA Tour pro-turned-commentator Frank Nobilo. All encouraged him to fight. “Those messages meant the world to me, every single one,” Hendry said.

In terms of cancer, Hendry is in what’s called deep molecular remission. There are traces of leukemia in his blood, and he has to be tested regularly, but he’s in remission. In terms of his game, Hendry felt it was good enough to accept his medical exemption into Troon. Recently, he earned another top-15 result on the Japan circuit, as well as a top 30, and only one missed cut in his last five starts. He credited his play to working with former tour pro-turned-coach, Luke Toomey.

But Hendry saved his biggest thank you for family and friends who helped his journey back to golf’s oldest major. “My family and friends made it their mission to help me get back and I don’t know how to repay them. But I’ve spent weeks returning calls, texts and thanking people in person,” he said.

The tall, athletically built Kiwi also credited the R&A for giving him something to focus on during his treatment. “I thought when I gave up my spot at Hoylake, that was it. It was an incredible gesture,” Hendry said.

Naturally, as a pro for 19 years, Hendry wants to compete this week at Royal Troon.

“I don’t want to make up the numbers, but walking and playing four rounds, as well as consistency, is a little more difficult after my treatments,” he said. “If I have a good week, great, and if I don’t, I’m still going to have a great time.”

On Tuesday, Hendry looked around the Ayrshire links—while playing a morning practice round with DP World Tour winners and countrymen Ryan Fox and Daniel Hillier, as well as rising New Zealand pro and former amateur star Kazuma Kobori—and couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude.

“July 19 last year seems a long way away. I’m so glad to be back at the Open. My wife and kids are all here,” he said, before ripping a drive down the par-5 fourth hole at Troon. “This sounds odd, but sometimes I look at the diagnosis like a blessing in disguise. I enjoy life more now.”

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Is it the British Open or the Open Championship? The name of the final men’s major of the golf season is a subject of continued discussion. The event’s official name, as explained in this op-ed by former R&A chairman Ian Pattinson, is the Open Championship. But since many United States golf fans continue to refer to it as the British Open, and search news around the event accordingly, Golf Digest continues to utilize both names in its coverage.