“But, where we’re at at the moment is probably as good as I could have hoped to have been at this point.”
Hendry’s most recent bone marrow biopsy before Christmas showed that there were zero signs of leukaemia.
“That’s basically the first step to being considered cured,” he said.
“I’ve got a couple of years more of mandatory testing just to make sure that result remains the same and if it continues to stay negative, I’ll be in a cured bracket.
“And in terms of my golf game, I’ve been playing really well. So, no, everything’s pretty sweet in my life. At the moment.”
Hendry returns to the Vic Open today where a year ago he won his fourth title on the PGA Tour of Australasia and first in six years. A few months later he continued that strong form to clinch a spot in the British Open by finishing second at the World City Championship on the Asian Tour.
But he had to turn down a third trip to the Open Championship, (he didn’t make the cut in 2017 and 2018) missing the tournament at Royal Liverpool Golf Club.
The R & A, organisers of the event, were happy to hold his entry for this year where it will take place at Royal Troon in Scotland.
“Even before last year’s Open was played, the R & A had told me that they were going to see my exemption good for this year. So I’m already in the Open.
“I’m really looking forward to that and just trying to get myself in good form come July and hopefully I can make up for my missed opportunity last year.”
Hendry said knowing he had a spot locked in for the major if he recovered from cancer was a massive motivation, giving him something “to live for”.
“It was huge. I can’t undersell how important it was for me during what I was going through with my leukaemia battle and the chemotherapy and all that sort of stuff to know that I had something like the open to, to look forward to and push towards.
“Because the things I hadn’t achieved that I still wanted to achieve were just huge and pushing me forward in terms of doing the extra bit to make sure I was as healthy as I could be during that period of time. It really gave me something to look forward to and live for.
“It was great and I think it was a huge part of my success thus far in my recovery. They were very gracious”.
Hendry returned to action late last year with an emotional victory at the Clearwater Open on the Charles Tour, the win coming on his 44th birthday. It kicked off a new phase of his post-cancer career.
“I pushed really hard in terms of my fitness levels and I’m probably fitness-wise better than I was even this time last year.
“Regardless of results, I’m in a great space, physically, mentally and emotionally at the moment. So I’m just out there enjoying my golf. It’s great.”
Returning to the Vic Open as defending champion one of the biggest challengers could come from a fellow Kiwi.
Kazuma Kobori will be chasing a third consecutive Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia title, a feat not achieved in almost two decades.
Kobori has produced back-to-back wins in the Webex Players Series events at Cobram Barooga and Rosebud and will be attempting to match the three-in-a-row feat of Robert Allenby who clinched the “big three” of the Australian Open, PGA and Masters in 2005.
Cameron McMillan has been a sports journalist since 2003 and is NZME’s deputy head of sport.
