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Michelle Wie West Recalls the ‘Weird Rule’ of LPGA Tour That Once Put Her in a Tight Spot While Getting Her Appendix Taken Out

Published 02/02/2023, 2:30 PM EST

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Michelle Wie West may be retired at the moment, but she’s had her share of challenges in the sport of golf. The LPGA star overcame many struggles to earn herself the reputation of a good golfer. While revealing her one obstacle, West revealed a weird LPGA rule that she came across while her appendix was being removed.

After retiring from golf last year, the 33-year-old has been spending plenty of time sharing stories of her time on the professional circuit. During her recent outing at the newly launched Par 3 Podcast, West disclosed details of her appendix operation on the final round of an LPGA event.

Michelle Wie West got her appendix removed while leading an LPGA event

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In episode two of the newly launched podcast hosted by former NBA player, J.R. Smith, Ben Baller, and Stephen Malbon, the retired LPGA star talks about her more than decade-long professional golf career. However, she then revealed a story about one of her worst injuries.

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West revealed that during one of the tournaments in Canada, she was leading with five shots in the final round on Sunday. However, she then added, “Then I got had to get my appendix taken out that day”. The words stunned the hosts of the podcast as all of them exclaimed, ‘What’!

The LPGA star then claimed how she was struggling with colitis back in the day and was undergoing ER almost every week. However, during the event in Canada, the long struggles finally got the better of the golfer. “I was like okay it’s just probably colitis again you know I’m in a foreign country. I’m just gonna go through the ER. Hopefully, they’ll give me some meds, some painkillers”, West said.

The 33-year-old then texted her caddie that she’ll be back to the golf course after a quick check. However, little did she know, she was about to get her appendix removed. As West was ready to leave, the doctor told her “You’re not going anywhere”. Evidently enough the LPGA star was forced to withdraw from the event that she was leading. However, the only issue was, that she couldn’t withdraw deeming to a rule.

West uncovers the weird LPGA rule

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As the golfer was about to undergo surgery, she called her caddie, Matthew Galloway, to inform him of her withdrawal from the tournament. However, the officials revealed to her caddie that to withdraw from the event, West had to be on-site to avail the withdrawal.

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The LPGA star laughed it off by claiming that Galloway told the officials that “She’s literally on an operator”. According to her, the bizarre rule has since been changed much to the golfers’ convenience. Now, Michelle is much healthier, however, away from the sport. As she continues disclosing many more stories from her illustrious career, the fans are in for a treat.

Watch This Story: Tiger Woods Took No Time to Give a Befitting Reply to a PGA Pro for His Bitter Gibe in 2006

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Written by:

Abdul Bari Khan

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Abdul Bari is a Golf writer at EssentiallySports. Having completed his Bachelor’s in Business Administration, Abdul is currently pursuing his Master’s in the same. With great affection for the world of sports, this avid golf lover turned to the course at a young age.
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Edited by:

Manaal Siddiqui

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