Photo By Rodney Smith
By Lisa Furlong
August 2006
Like many doctors who deal with critically ill patients, cardiologist James Ryan of Columbus, Ohio, knows when to call for help from other experts. In the case of a high school golfer who in 1999 had undergone two open-heart surgeries in five days, Ryan called in several, including Jack Nicklaus, who happened to be visiting his mother at the Ohio State University Medical Center, where Ryan serves as director of nuclear cardiology. When Nicklaus said he'd be happy to visit Ryan's young patient, the doctor asked the boy's mother if her son could handle another visitor. "She asked if it was necessary, and I told her, 'This guy is the best in the world at what he does.' When she said OK, Jack came in, and that kid who'd been hurting physically and emotionally sat bolt upright in bed," Ryan recalls. "Jack could not have been nicer. He gave the boy his home number and told him to call anytime. Then he came back the next day. I couldn't believe the difference it made."
Nicklaus won't be turning to medicine as a second career, nor are the physicians in our first-ever ranking of doctor golfers likely to play golf for a living, but the intersection of golf and medicine is worth noting. Doctors in our Top 100 are very good players--so good, in fact, that several might've been able to play professionally. Mary Budke (No. T-19), now practicing emergency medicine in Eugene, Ore., won the 1972 U.S. Women's Amateur. Oklahoma City urologist Brad Kropp (No. 14) played Monday qualifiers for PGA Tour events while working on his game in Hilton Head Island before turning to medical school. David Sibley (No. 43), a cardiologist in Birmingham, Ala., worked with Bob Toski in hopes of turning pro before deciding that medicine would be more fulfilling. Many more have played serious amateur golf even after establishing themselves in medicine. Vermont radiologist Terry Coffield (No. 23) competed in the 2002 U.S. and 2003 British Mid-Ams; Oklahoma City orthopedic surgeon Rick Ruffin (No. T-16) played in the 1996 U.S. Amateur at Pumpkin Ridge and in five Mid-Ams.
Some, of course, knew medicine would be their future back when they played high school and college golf. For emergency-room doc Chris Lombardozzi (No. T-34, of Spartanburg, S.C.), who played in several high school championships and at Columbia University in New York, the choice was made before first grade. "I had surgery at age 5, and the doctor told me I could have as many milkshakes as I wanted," he says. "That sealed the deal."
Golf Digest's ranking of M.D.s and D.O.s (Doctors of Medicine and Doctors of Osteopathy) required a 6.0 USGA Handicap Index to make the Top 100.We know there are thousands of low-handicap dentists, podiatrists and chiropractors--even Ph.D.s--but those are rankings for another time.
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