Angela O'Rourke won the Leisure World Lions Golf Tournament in Mesa Friday for the second year in a row - even though she couldn't see her ball, or the fairway, or her golf club. The Mesa 57-year-old is blind. But don't take pity on her. She's rated the No. 1 blind female golfer in the country by the United States Blind Golf Association, and said one of the greatest gifts in her life was to have her eyesight taken away.
"Every man is handsome. Every woman is beautiful," said O'Rourke, who chose the Lions tournament because of the club's involvement with helping the blind. "I believe the creator blessed me in so many ways. Without people believing in me none of this would have happened."
She lost her eyesight after a head injury from a car crash in 1991. She had just been approved for her retirement as a U.S. Army colonel and was driving away from the Pentagon when she was hit from behind by a truck while stopped at a light. The truck landed on top of her, and it took three hours to extricate her. Emergency crews presumed she was dead. She had several broken bones, including in her feet, leg, hips and jaw, and the crash caused damage to her brain's occipital lobe, which affects speech, eyesight and causes seizures. She had to relearn how to walk, talk, and even how to think. The injuries left her legally blind, and in 1996 she had a seizure and lost the rest of her eyesight.
Before the crash she was a master in martial arts and was one class away from receiving her doctorate in psychology. She had planned to open her own practice and martial arts schools. She has since received her educational doctorate.
On Friday, she was the only blind golfer participating in the Leisure World tournament. At the par-63 course, she shot an 84. She has a 38-handicap, yielding a net score 46.
With her guide dog, Faith, waiting in the golf cart, she maneuvered around the golf course with the help of her caddy/coach. He lines up her club with the ball, describing the direction, distance and terrain to the coveted hole. Then, he steps back and off she swings.
O'Rourke's caddy/coach on Friday was Ralph Hawley, a professional golf management program coordinator from Arizona State University who donates his time to help her and was also on her four-member team. "She's very good around the green," said Hawley, a Professional Golf Association member. "If I can get her on the green, she'll put it in the hole."
Jerry Moser of Mesa has also been her caddy/coach in the past. The two won the 2004 United States Blind Open in Oregon, and the 2005 Canadian Blind Open.
Before golf, she said all she wanted to do was die. A friend took her to the golf course in 1999 and refused to leave until she hit the ball. She took a few swings, and it was an instant addiction. "Golf helped with my concentration. It helped with my shortterm and long-term goals," said O'Rourke, married with six children and 11 grandchildren. "Golf became my meaning in life."
Since 2000, O'Rourke has competed in dozens of regular and blind golf tournaments throughout the United States and Canada. She's won more than 20 of them. It's her goal to help the blind become functional and contribute to society. She is the director of the Disabled Angels International Foundation in Canada, and the state Angel's Blind Golf Foundation.
O'Rourke is available to help any blind person at (480) 557-7333 or (519) 770-6555.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/86577Created on ... April 18, 2007