It’s mind over matter for golfer Daeng as he deals with pain of wrist injury

PETALING JAYA: Golfer Daeng Abdul Rahman has been performing well on the Toyota Tour this season despite playing through a wrist injury that just doesn’t seem to go away.

The 24-year-old finished in joint eighth at the Vios Cup with an even-par 216 at the Templer Park Country Club last week but pain in his wrist from a 2017 injury has been a bother.

“The first time I got my wrist injured was at the end of 2017 and I rested for eight months the next year,” he said at the partnership event between Under Armour and MST Golf for the Toyota Tour eGolf Championship.

“It was better after that but I would feel numbness if I practised too much. From the end of last year until now, the pain has always been there.’’

With a long road still to go on the tour, Daeng said it has been tough managing the pain in the previous rounds but it has been mind over matter for the 2023 Camry Cup winner.

“During the Tun Ahmad Sarji Trophy, I started to feel the pain on the second day. I was thinking too much about it until I couldn’t play.

“On the third day I was just focused on playing and not thinking about my hand and I managed to play well,” he said.

At the Saujana Golf and Country Club in February, Daeng shot a four-over on day two but topped the scoreboard on the final day with a five-under performance, which saw him finish in sixth.

To keep himself going for the remainder of the tour calendar, Daeng has been visiting the physiotherapist and is looking forward to a short break before the Fortuner Cup starts at the Sibu Golf on June 25.

“It’s a long season and I have about a month until I head to Sibu. The main focus is to do recovery on my hand and to get enough rest.

“If the pain persists, then I would have to find a different approach to get better,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Toyota Tour eGolf Championship will get a boost with Under Armour coming on board as their sponsor for the month as the participants have been competing for a chance to compete with the pros.

The championships from April 1-Aug 31 will see four winners from each month compete in a 20-player grand final in October, with the winner getting playing rights to the Yaris Cup in November.