Green Hopes for Champions Tour Return Next Spring

Ken Green is nothing if not hopeful. After having his lower right leg amputated after a tragic RV accident that killed his brother and girlfriend, the Champions Tour player says he plans to get back to playing professional golf next April.

"It's probably not realistic; July might be better," Green told the Associated Press. "But I don't know. I've never done this before. The question is, can I get back to the highest level? Our level and just golf are two different worlds."

On Monday the five-time PGA Tour winner was in his hometown of Danbury, Conn., where fellow pros Fred Funk, Curtis Strange and Mark Calcavecchia played at Ridgewood Country Club to help raise money to pay for some of Green's medical expenses. Officials expect the event will bring in about $150,000, and plan a similar fundraiser in Florida in November.

Green was with his brother, Billy, and Ken's girlfriend, Jeannie Hodgin, when the RV his brother was driving blew a tire and went off Interstate 20 near Hickory, Miss, hitting a tree. Also killed was his beloved pet dog. Ken Green was the only survivor.

Green said he doesn't remember the accident, just waking up in the hospital. He said doctors told him they might be able save his leg, but that it would never function properly. "I told them to cut it off, because that was my only chance," he said. "I wouldn't have been able to swing properly with that leg the way it was."

Since then Green has been staying with his sister, Shelley White, who said he has been focused on golf almost since the moment he woke up. Green, who is being fitted with a prosthetic that will have an ankle that pivots, hoped to be able to play a few holes Monday but his leg was too painful.

"He has no patience," White said. "He wants everything to happen at once."

Green said this isn't the toughest thing he's ever been through. After gaining a reputation as one of the most outspoken golfers on the PGA Tour, he suffered from depression in the 1990s which, combined with a back injury, almost ended his golf career.

He lost his Tour card in 2000, and said he made no money between 2005 and 2008, the year he turned 50 and became eligible for the over-50 circuit. He was 54th on the Champions Tour's money list with $123,906 in 11 appearances at the time of the accident.

"When I was fighting through my depression, that, I believe was harder, because I didn't know I was in it," he told the AP. "Whereas this one you know what you have to tackle. You have to get your leg, then you have to go change your swing, and then you have to go start playing like a pro again."

Longtime friend Calcavecchia said he believes Green can make it all the way back. "This is going to have a happy ending for sure," Calcavecchia said. "Even if he doesn't get back to the level he wants to. He just wants to play golf. And if he does reach his goal - beating some guys on Champions Tour - well, he knows he's going to make history if he does that."

Green says he's plenty motivated to make a successful return. "Obviously, I lost three of my best friends and I think I'd be doing them a dishonor if I didn't come back from this," he told the AP. "Just 'cause I lost a leg, you have to say, 'OK, we'll work around that.' "