This is one outlet's own report from Yahoo Sports — the article as it was filed.
AIPROPX ReportYahoo Sports · 41m ago
Madison junior turns to golf after Tommy John surgery ends baseball career
What could have been a curse turned into a blessing for Logan Andersen.
When he was a 12-year-old pitcher, Andersen had Tommy John surgery on his right throwing arm that prematurely ended his aspiring baseball career.
Andersen, who calls himself a fierce competitor, had to find an avenue to fill that void after enduring several months of physical therapy following the successful surgery.
So he traded in his bat and glove for a set of golf clubs. He went from pitcher to putter.
“I fell in love with the game,” said Andersen, a junior on the Madison High School golf team.
And the game loved him back. He quickly realized the more he practiced, the more time he spent on his newfound sport, the better he played.
His scoring average has dropped every season at Madison. As a freshman, his nine-hole average was 46, followed by 40.8 as a sophomore and 38.2 this season. That scoring average is the lowest in the Southwestern Buckeye League, according to early-season SWBL statistics.
He won one tournament, the Bethel Invitational, as a sophomore, two summer tourneys, and the Brookville Invitational this year at Beechwood Golf Course when his even-par 72 bested the other 102 golfers.
Andersen’s goals this season include being a team leader on the underclassmen heavy squad, continue improving, and hopefully qualifying for the state tournament.
Andersen and Jake Munafo, his first-year Mohawks coach, say they’re working on his overall performance on the course and his mental approach. Andersen works at Browns Run Golf Course in Madison Twp., and when he’s not cleaning carts or picking balls at the driving range, he’s either practicing or playing.
“Free golf is good,” he said with a laugh.
When it was mentioned that Andersen sounds like a grinder, he agreed.
“I’m not super privileged,” he said of his golf upbringing. “But it’s a privilege to play golf.”
Munafo added: “He’s not a country club kid.”
Munafo, a 2020 Madison High graduate, played basketball and baseball for the Mohawks. He subs in the Edgewood district and when the golf coach position at Madison became available, he applied and was hired.
He understands there’s nothing he can teach Andersen about his swing. He works on the mental side of the game with his standout junior.
“Just making sure he’s always looking forward,” Munafo said.
The coach called Andersen’s win at the Brookville Invitational “pretty impressive” and said the junior hasn’t played his best golf yet.
When asked who’s the better golfer, the coach never hesitated.
“Definitely Logan,” he said. “Not even close.”
Andersen is the only member of his family who plays golf. His sister, Mavis, played volleyball and attends the University of Findlay and his parents, Jacob and Samantha, never took up the game.
If not for Tommy John surgery, Andersen may never have played, either.
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