MENA Tour No.1 Luke Joy has revealed the scary side effects of what he has self-diagnosed as a bout of altitude sickness, putting his missed cut at the Jo’Burg City Masters into context.
The 29-year-old Englishman missed the cut by four shots at Country Club Johannesburg but it his second round 76 Wednesday was a clear struggle as he outlined his latest blog which explored “a very disappointing week but very odd circumstances.”.
“I have been in bed pretty much since I finished my second round yesterday. I woke up yesterday morning with cold sweats and basically all of my joints hurt and my feet were on fire,” Joy said.
“I was first off yesterday at 7.00am starting on the 10th tee and it was freezing cold but I was still sweating so I knew something was not right. I tried my upmost to get round and play but got off to a shocking start and was +4 through nine holes and didn’t really have any control of my body.
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“I will be honest, I can’t recall much of my last nine holes. I kept battling as was hoping it might only be a random bug and managed to make a few birdies on the front nine but was struggling to walk and was constantly out of breath.
I will be honest, I can’t recall much of my last nine holes.” – Luke Joy
“I was doing alright considering how I was feeling before basically falling over on my final [hole] and smothering my tee shot into a bush and settled for a triple bogey up the last.”
Joy told Golf Digest Middle East Thursday lunchtime that it had been a “challenging 24 hours” during which he had been “sick all night and struggling to keep anything down”. However, the Yas Links-attached Dorset pro said he “feels better today and my joints don’t feel like there on fire [anymore}.
He’s hopeful of coming right to tee it up in the final leg of the MENA Tour’s South African swing, The Roar at Waterkloof Golf Club in Pretoria from Tuesday.
“I really hope I can get back to normal for next week. I have done some research and asked a few of the guys playing and looks like my body has taken a weird reaction to the altitude here in Jo’burg, which even I’m shocked about.
“I have never had this issue before but then haven’t spent all that much time in Jo’burg or at altitude for a long period of time. It was a pretty hilly course this week so I’m really hoping I can start to feel better as it has been a pretty shit 24 hours.”
