DP World Tour golfer 'cried' on tee on return after mental health issues

Mike Lorenzo Vera cried on the tee before marking his DP World Tour return after a six-month absence due to mental health issues with a brilliant opening round in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.

Out in one of the first games in the $9 million Rolex Series event at Emirates Golf Club, the 39-year-old Frenchman carded a five-under-par 67 in his first competitive outing since the Barracuda Championship last July.

Afterwards, Lorenzo Vera spoke openly about the mental problems that led to him taking a break from the game, during which time he received valuable support from Edinburgh-based Dr Andrew Murray, the DP World Tour’s chief medical officer.

Mike Lorenzo-Vera pictured during day one of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club | Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

“I was crying on the first tee,” said the world No 545 of his return to action. “I managed to hit an absolute dart down the middle of the fairway. Big mistake, I relaxed and managed to hit the worst 2-iron ever, so I had to save a par. That felt good. I had a lot of support since I came back. A lot of messages and a lot of people were very nice to me. It feels good.”

That wasn’t the case when one of the most charismatic figures in the game decided he needed to take a break after reaching a point where he felt he just couldn’t keep playing.“

“That was really bad,” he said of how low he felt last summer. “I didn’t sleep for a year and a half at least. Because I’m stubborn I just thought my take away was not good enough. I kept on pushing instead of resting. This is why I’m in the exemption category.

“It has been a great help. I thank the tour big time for that. I was screaming, feeling like I was drowning and anxiety attacks when I was eating. Not the best moment. But it happens to a lot of people.”

Even so, those who know Lorenza Vera would have probably been surprised it happened to him. “I was the first person to be surprised,” he admitted with a wry smile. “I would never expect that to arrive to me.

“I thought if you play bad, just go play, work harder, just shut the f*** up. Just work. And then I enjoy having some beers and some fun. Then there is a spiral I didn’t see coming. I don’t think anybody sees it coming, honestly.

“You have to be just very careful when you start to feel very anxious. Just speak to someone, it’s basically like when you have a lot of rubbish and the psychologist is the bin and you just put everything down there. If you keep your garbage in the garden after one year it’s going to look horrible.”

At this week’s event in the UAE, a mental fitness and recovery zone is available to players and caddies, its aim being to provide help in terms of both mental and physical performance.

“We’ve seen what happened last year with Grayson Murray,” said Lornezo Vera of the PGA Tour player taking his life after struggling with mental issues. “You don’t want that to happen again.

“When I called Andrew Murray, one hour or two hours later I already had a meeting with a psychologist. They were super fast and every day - ‘how do you feel?’ - sending me documents about breathing and mindfulness. They’ve been on me for two months.

“After two months when I started my treatment, they told me basically go and find your proper psychologist and go and work with your psychologist. The tour has reacted unbelievably well.”

On a day when hat-trick seeking Rory McIlroy had to be content with a two-under 70, American amateur David Ford made five birdies on the trot around the turn as he shot a 65 to set the pace along with Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia and Australian David Micheluzzi.