At the start of the week, Rory Sabbatini was presented with a cake to celebrate his 600th career PGA Tour start.
A sweet reminder that Sabbatini, at age 46, is getting older.
“As I told my wife, I said, my body’s breaking down faster than a Twinkie in a fat kid’s hand,” Sabbatini quipped Friday afternoon at the Valspar Championship, where he turned back the clocks and feasted on a hearty Copperhead layout, firing 6 -under 65 to make his first cut since early November.
“It’s been so long since I’ve played four rounds,” he added. “I don’t know if my legs are going to hold up for the next two days.”
Sabbatini is a year and one day removed from having right knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus. The injury forced him to withdraw from last March’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, where Sabbatini went viral for staying on the golf course to walk the final six holes with – and even raking bunkers for – his third-round playing competitor, Anirban Lahiri.
“To those very kind spectators that made comments at API that I was faking an injury and the others that DM’d me that it was not professional to withdraw from it, kiss my a$$,” Sabbatini posted on Instagram shortly after surgery. “To all those who showed support, all I can say is thank you. I hope I’m back out there soon and stronger.”
Sabbatini returned nine weeks later at the Wells Fargo Championship, where he tied for 41stSt. He made eight of his next 13 cuts, albeit a stretch where he posted just two top-25s, capped by a T-66 at Mayakoba, his last cut prior to this week.
Following Mayakoba, Sabbatini missed seven straight cuts – and he appeared to be headed towards an eighth in a row after opening the Valspar in 74. But he turned in a bogey-free performance in Round 2, which included five back-nine birdies to climb up the leaderboard.
“As I said to my caddy yesterday, I said, you know, things were close. I wasn’t that far off. I could feel it was there. It was just slightly off,” Sabbatini said. “Unfortunately, this is a golf course that when you get slightly off, you put the e-brake on and you definitely handcuff yourself, and you don’t commit to swings out here. If you’re swinging well and you hit some good quality shots out here, you kind of start to get a little bit more free, and you can actually take advantage of this golf course.”
Full-field scores Valspar Championship
With Sabbatini back in the mix entering a PGA Tour weekend – he’s just four shots off the lead – the Slovakian Olympic silver medalist in Tokyo was asked about Paris two summers from now.
At No. 353 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Sabbatini gave another honest answer.
“Paris 2024 was on my mind for a long time, but after my knee had gone out last year and things, it’s kind of become almost like smoke and mirrors,” Sabbatini said. “I don’t think it’s going to happen. I would love it to, but I don’t know if it will.”