From near death to the top of golf

Leonie Harm is one of 72 players starting at the Augusta National Women's Amateur Championship, as a kind of opening act, because Tiger Woods and Co. are playing for the Masters title and the famous green jacket a few days later. Only the best 30 amateur female golfers qualify for the final day on what is probably the most famous golf course in the world in the US state of Georgia, where until 2012 only men had the privilege of hitting the white ball over the fairways.

A day that changed a lot Leonie Harm only has fragmented memories of the morning of May 3, 2013, when the terrible accident happened. Before school she goes jogging. As the talented golfer crossed a main road, she was hit head-on by a car at around 70 kilometers per hour. “I don’t know why I ran across the street,” she remembers. “Apparently I looked around before jogging out into the street.”

In the hospital, the doctors put the then 15-year-old into an artificial coma. Looking back, Leonie Harm describes her chances of survival as “low”. The names of the serious injuries fill a huge medical file: a fracture to the base of the skull, the hip, the ankle and a rib are cracked. The petrous bone that surrounds the inner ear is also broken. The lungs are bruised and hematomas have formed in the brain. Play golf after seven weeks But Leonie Harm is fighting. “After five days I was somewhat awake again,” she says. “I was discharged from the hospital after two weeks, and after about seven weeks I was slowly able to play golf again.” Almost unimaginable. As for permanent damage, she has “only limited hearing in my right ear and therefore a poor sense of balance.”

Today, six years later, the young, self-confident woman is in the middle of life. Since 2016, thanks to a sports scholarship, she has been studying biochemistry at the University of Houston in Texas and has been playing golf successfully on the Houston Cougars varsity team.

<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BsEL_6clDZ4/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"> <path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"> View this post on Instagram A post shared by Leonie Harm (@leoharm)

Whether professional golf or a career in research – this is the question of the future that Leonie Harm is currently concerned with. “I'm currently leaning towards giving a professional career a try. If that doesn’t work out or if I don’t enjoy it that much, I want to get into cancer research.”

In the summer of 2018, Leonie Harm celebrated one of her greatest sporting successes to date. In Southport, England, she became the first German to win the British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship. This victory is the ticket to the tournament premiere in Augusta. Starting this Wednesday, the Swabian will play the first two rounds at the Champions Retreat Golf Club – 20 kilometers away from Augusta National. A quantum leap Women and the Augusta National Golf Club – until now it didn't fit together. The club is one of the most elite in the world. It was founded in 1932 and was an all-male bastion for 80 years. Only after decades of debate did the private club accept former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and entrepreneur Darla Moore as the first women in 2012.

Therefore, hosting a women's tournament is like a quantum leap. “I think it's a shame that it took golf until the second decade of the 21st century to realize that these courses should also be playable for women,” says Leonie Harm. “This tournament makes an important statement, and I'm excited to have the chance to be a part of it.” Even if there's no Masters title or green jacket up for grabs on Saturday at Augusta National Golf Club.

Football

Italy

International leagues

International

Winter sports

Hockey

Tennis

Other sports

Motorsport

Cycling

Watersports

Events

Favorites

From near death to the top of golf

Six years ago, the German Leonie Harm narrowly escaped death. Now the 21-year-old can witness a turning point: today, April 6th, the final round of a women's tournament will be played for the first time at the elite Augusta National Golf Club on Magnolia Lane.

Suggestions

Comments (0)