tim;rosaforte
tucker’s;memorable;comeback
tucker anderson was the
best man at his oldest
brother travis’ wedding on
saturday. that might surprise the emts, physicians
and nurses who knew he
had flat-lined twice on the
morning of sept. 7, after an
accident on the university
of west florida campus in
pensacola. tucker not only
gave the toast and danced
at the reception, he delivered a powerful message.
“obviously, we’re very
thankful from where he
was three months ago,
lying there fighting for
his life,” said anderson’s
father, todd, from his
home on st. simons island,
ga., yesterday. “we didn’t
know what kind of future
he had, but he was not only
in the wedding, he was a
big part of it. so from our
perspective as parents
and a family, we were very
thankful that he healed
so quickly and that so
many people were there
to enjoy it.”
todd anderson, the 2010
pga teacher of the year
and swing instructor for
fedex cup champion
brandt snedeker, has been
director of instruction at
sea island gc since 2004.
before the final round of the
tour championship at east
lake, snedeker visited tucker,
who was in what doctors
call a semi-comatose state.
the two exchanged a fist
bump. “i asked him if he
thought i could beat rory
mcilroy today,” snedeker
said at the time. “he gave
me a little wink.”
atlanta hospital, i saw him
walking into frederica’s
workout room with his older
brother taylor, a marine
who served in afghanistan.
tucker’s right eye was a slit.
his speech was labored.
the part in his hair revealed
a scar from the back of his
ear to his forehead. but you
could understand him
clearly when, with a tear
forming in his left eye, he
said, “less than 1 percent of
the people who have [this
type of brain trauma] live.”
you were asleep for a day
or a year or whatever,” his
father said. “once he put
it all together and started
therapy, one of the things
he said was, ‘when is tra-
vis’ wedding?’ tucker put a
timeline on when and what
he wanted to accomplish—
to be travis’ best man, walk
down the aisle and give the
speech.”
snedeker’s recalling that visit
to the shepherd center in
atlanta had been my
memorable moment of the
year—until last friday
morning at frederica gc in
st. simons, the first time i’d
seen tucker since sept. 21.
i’ve known tucker since he
was in diapers. he caddied
for me in the 2011 mc-
gladrey classic pro-am.
less than three months
after i visited him in his
tucker, 19, is not only living,
he’s dreaming of playing
college golf, maybe follow-
ing his father’s footsteps.
his progress, even recently,
has been remarkable. no
longer does he need people
to help him up from the
table, as he did on thanks-
giving. his speech is im-
proving every day. his will
(and his physical shape)
not only saved his life, it will
inspire others. “when you
come out of one of those
comas, you don’t know if
tucker’s goal now is to
stand on a par 3 at sea
island gc on may 6 in a
fundraiser and hit a shot
with every group. when i
asked if i could caddie for
him, he gave me a wink and
a fist bump.
