Flash: Athletes Who Don't Eat For 20 Hours Might Feel Horrible!

Karen Crouse tells us far more than we'll ever want to know about Disney winner Charlie Beljan and his "panic attacks" (he's taken a meeting in Hollywood!).

After reading the story, I'll be putting "panic attack" in quotes when it relates to Beljan from now on since the fine print reveals this attack, for which some producer thinks is film-worthy, came when Beljan had not eaten for 20 hours. 20!

Because foraging for food can be exhausting when one’s tastes are so narrow, Beljan sometimes would not bother eating. He skipped meals and never packed food in his bag during rounds. The day of his panic attack on the golf course, he had not had a meal in nearly 20 hours. He has vowed to rectify this behavior by carrying bananas and peanut butter sandwiches this season.

And there was this about supposed panic attack sufferer Bubba Watson...

On Wednesday, Watson, the reigning Masters champion who is also in this week’s 30-man field, said he had gone to the hospital three times with panic attacks, mostly recently two years ago.

And later on Wednesday, Bubba told Golf Magazine's Cameron Morfit that his panic attacks were, in fact, caused by the same problem that plagued public golfers tracked down by the New York Times last fall in their page A1 quest to expose the widespread problem of panic attacks in golf: acid reflux.

GM: Were you stressed out at the time?

BW: What we found out now is acid reflux, which is the same nerve endings as your heart—I was eating really, really bad, really unhealthy. 

Comments

[KLG]

Karen Crouse, the Bernard Darwin if the early 21st Century. Can she start writing for Country Life? My current library doesn't subscribe. As for Charlie, as long as the pineapple (10 pieces, right?) doesn't touch the Subway sub, everything should be fine. Congratulations on the win at the last Disney. Just stay away from the twitter machine, young man, and you will go far in this world. Also, too: Carry a bottle of Maalox tablets along with the bananas and peanut butter in the golf bag.

[Dr. Emil Zoloft]

And might as well pack a straight jacket in that bag as well.

[OWGR Fan]

I think Bubba and Charlie are both royally FOS. But if they both believe their own self diagnosis...

[Hawkeye]

Beljan's attitude to food reminds me of someone - my five-year-old. The biggest surprise in the article was that he actually did go to school.

[gov. lepetomane]

Stories such as this one reaffirm that it is not a criteria of the PGA Tour that one pass a common-sense exam in order to qualify to play. The same probably goes for most professional athletic endeavors.
What is really sad is when one of these individuals amasses enough cash in winnings and endorsements to be financially secure for life and then through some misadventure, sqaunders the money.
JD, are you listening?

[D. maculata]

Hawkeye - How was your risgrynsgrot? I think we should introduce Charlie's quirky taste to Lutefisk, before and after preparation. I'll bet he'd love changing the water ;-)

[Hawkeye]

Ah, @Dmac, the risgrynsgröt was excellent this year, thank you! The new induction stove made cooking it properly like child's play (not that the five-year-old ate anything of it, though)! I think Mr. Beljan would have another panic attack getting within ten feet of the lutefisk, so I would dearly love to see that!

[No Longer Used to be Former S&T Convert]

Lets just put quotes around all 40 million other people affected by "anxiety disorders", because I am sure that each of them have other quirks (like lack of appetite) that could be pointed to by amateur psychologists as a trigger for their problem.

[Ludell Hogwaller]

So it was a bonk instead of a panic attack?

Makes sense, a panic attack seems more like what happened on Hydrant Day.

[DTF]

gov, who'd fail? Wait, would it be easier to list those that could pass?!?!

[digsouth]

Between the tweets and the dumbass lack of food, Charlie must have rode the short bus, and maybe that is giving him too much credit.

Proof that hitting, throwing or catching a ball-well, these people are all way overpaid.

And we the people who pay them, may be even dumber than they are.

[KLG]

Just read the dead tree GD article about the Golden Age of the 1970s (excellent article, btw, for someone of a certain age). Raymond Floyd had to tie the ties of several of his charges when he was RC Captain. Nothing else need be said...

[digsouth]

KLG--

A good friend of mine grew up with an internationally known guitarist here in Austin ,who I know, but these guys went to grade school together ,etc......anyway, Grammies are nice, but he has no clue how to balance his check book, laughed our mutual friend.

He needs to know- he does make some money!

You'd think the parents of a golfer would have gone to events requiring a tie, and the kid would know- as well as a guitarist whose dad is a professional ( doctor, lawyer, type) would teach him how to balance a checkbook.

[dw]

digsouth - please tell me it's not Eric Johnson. He seems very intelligent. Now Willie, I could handle that.

[DTF]

Balancing the checkbook is way over-rated.... Now I will admit to still using a checkbook, exclusively!

[Bryan @ Foursum Golf]

I think we are being quick to judge here. It does seem a little odd for someone to go over 20 hours without eating - even with these nutrition crazes like 'intermittent fasting' but there could be some issues here where certain foods make him tired and perform poorly. For example, I know that I have a minor sensitivity to Gluten (wheat, etc) that makes me instantly tired.

The anxiety could come from not knowing what is causing this behavior.
Just throwing that out there, thoughts?!

Have a great round,
Bryan