LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Charlie Beljan had trouble breathing even before he teed off, called for paramedics when he made the turn and even told his caddie at one point Friday that he thought he might die. With his job on the line at Disney, he kept right on playing until he had a remarkable 8-under 64 to build a three-shot lead going into the weekend.
The next question is if Beljan can even play on the weekend.
Moments after signing his card, Beljan was loaded onto a stretcher and wheeled to an ambulance that took him to a hospital.
"I think he was scared," said his caddie, Rick Adcox. "He kept saying he thought he was going to die. He just had that feeling. I don't know why. But it was spooky."
Adcox said paramedics told the 28-year-old Beljan on the 10th tee of the Palm Course that his blood pressure "wasn't good." It wasn't immediately known what was ailing Beljan, who leaned back on the stretcher with his eyes closed as he was taken to the ambulance. The tour said he complained of an elevated heart rate, shortness of breath and heart palpitations.
Adcox said Beljan told him there was numbness in his arms and he felt as if he was going to faint.
His agent, Andy Dawson, sent a text to the PGA Tour from Celebration Hospital, saying: "He's waiting on some tests. He's feeling a lot better and hopefully will be discharged this evening, but not for sure."
The struggle was painfully clear the way Beljan stooped over with his hands on his knees, sat down in the middle of the fairway to rest and often took a knee waiting his turn to putt. He backed off shots and tried to take deep breaths. That he wound up in the lead at the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic was simply amazing.
"It was bizarre," said Edward Loar, who played with Beljan. "I don't know if he thought he was going to make it. It sure didn't affect his golf. I heard him call for a paramedic on No. 9. Before the round, he said he was having a hard time breathing. Hopefully, the guy was all right. He was having a hard time breathing in there."
Beljan, in his rookie season on the PGA Tour, is No. 139 on the money list. Disney is the final event of the year, and only the top 125 are assured of keeping their full cards for next year. Beljan likely would need to finish around 10th place to keep his card.
He was at 12-under 132, three shots clear of seven players, a group that included Henrik Stenson, 18-hole leader Charlie Wi, Harris English and Charles Howell III.
Golf didn't seem to be a big priority at the end of a surreal day across from the Magic Kingdom, and there were concerns Beljan would even finish.
"I thought a lot of times he was going to stop," Adcox said. "I didn't even think he was going to start. He asked me to go find a doctor at the beginning, and I did. The paramedics ... were on No. 10 waiting on him. Blood pressure wasn't good then. For him to go on, that was pretty much his decision.
"I thought they were going to stop him on 10 when they told him what the blood pressure was," he said. "He just said, 'I'm going to keep going until either I pass out or they take me off.' I kept saying, 'It doesn't matter to me. It's only a golf tournament. You've got many more.'"
When he did get over a shot, the outcome generally was superb.
"He hit four of the best iron shots I've seen on the par 5s," Loar said. "It was awesome to watch."
Adcox realized something wasn't right when Beljan called for a doctor on the practice range. He drilled his long second shot onto the green at the par-5 first hole, and when the caddie handed him a putter, he said Beljan told him, "I don't feel very good."
"He got up there and made the eagle and still said he didn't feel good," Adcox said. "It's been not good all day. The score was good."
The caddie said they didn't pay attention to the score Beljan was putting together, and because they were playing on the Palm Course that doesn't have many leaderboards, they didn't even know Beljan was in the lead until the round was over.
They simply started a countdown — one more hole, one more shot.
Beljan had two eagles and played the par 5s in 6 under. He struggled to finish, picking up a bogey on the 17th and missing the green to the right on the 18th. Facing a difficult chip, made even tougher that he looked wobbly over the ball, he hit a beautiful shot to 4 feet to save par.
The final two rounds move to the tougher Magnolia Course, which effectively feels like the final stage of Q-school for some of the players. Matt Jones and Mark Anderson, in that group at 9-under 135, can avoid going to the second stage of Q-school. Wi needs a win to have any hope of getting into the Masters. English is going for his first win.
Rod Pampling will have to sweat out his future at home in Dallas for the second straight year. He is No. 124 on the money list, made bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes and missed the cut by one shot. All that helps Pampling is that Billy Mayfair, who is No. 125 on the money list, also missed the cut, as did Gary Christian at No. 127.
Kevin Chappell was at No. 123, but he put together another solid round and suddenly is only four shots out of the lead. His card would appear to be safe.
Beljan nearly passes out on his way to the lead
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Beljan nearly passes out on his way to the lead
