Ill-timed tumble ends Sutherland's season, possibly his PGA Tour career

Kevin Sutherland stepped back to line up a shot on the practice range at the Valero Texas Open in April when his foot caught a rope and he fell over backward. Little did he know then it would cost him the majority of his season.

He tied for 11th that week -- his best finish of the year -- and that was that. With pain increasing each week, Sutherland missed the cut in his next three tournaments through the Players Championship before heading home to Sacramento, Calif., to find out what was wrong.

“I’ve got a herniated disk in the base of my neck, and I have a bone spur in the middle of my neck and that drove it into the spinal cord,” Sutherland said. “There was a bunch of inflammation. They told me I needed rest.”

Turns out to be a lot of rest.

He likely is done for the year, having already been given approval to take a major medical exemption for 2012. Sutherland has gone so long without playing that when he picked up a 6-iron last week, it felt strange in his hands. If rest doesn’t fix it, the 47-year-old Sutherland isn’t interested in surgery.

“I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m going to do surgery if it bothers me in everyday life,” he said. “I’m not going to have surgery just to play golf.”

Sutherland’s lone win on tour came at the 2001 Accenture Match Play Championship. He has been a steady performer, never losing his card since he joined the PGA Tour in 1996 while averaging 28 starts a year. He played 11 times this year, which has made one person happy: his 10-year-old son.

“Keaton is loving it,” Sutherland said. “He thinks it’s the greatest thing in the world, because he’s got his dad for the summer. So that’s obviously one of the plusses. But I am going a little stir crazy.”