NEWTON, Kan. — For 12 years, Issa Nlareb has held on to a Tiger Woods ball marker a friend gave to him.
“When I arrive in the United States, I will wear it,” Nlareb told his friend.
This week, he finally got to showcase it.
Nlareb is competing in the 2024 U.S. Adaptive Open at Sand Creek Station in Kansas. It’s his first time in the United States, and he is the first player from Cameroon to compete in the event. His journey to middle America is about as incredible as his golf game, all of which was nearly taken from him after contracting bacterial meningitis in 2017.
“The way Tiger would come back after all of the things, it just gives me the courage to continue,” Nlareb said.
Dream of golf in the U.S. fulfilled
Nlareb has long dreamed to come to America to play golf. It wasn’t until this week he got his chance.
Growing up in Africa, Nlareb was 11 years old when his mother died, leaving him homeless. It’s then when he said he had to choose between a life on the streets or picking golf balls and working for food.
He chose golf.
U.S. Adaptive Open: Videos | Photos | Men’s scoring | Women’s scoring
After a couple years, he became a caddie, and his love for the game only grew. He started to play the game, and slowly but surely became good enough to play on the Alps Tour.
In 2017 while competing at the Ein Bay Open in Egypt, Nlareb contracted bacterial meningitis, and it put him into a four-day coma.
“When I woke up, all of my extremities had necrosis,” Nlareb said.
That’s when he had to make a choice to have both of his legs amputated and all but two of his fingers on his right hand.
From sleeping on the streets after losing his mom to multiple amputations in 2018, Issa Nlareb has found meaning in life through golf. pic.twitter.com/1FitX6ZvQj
— USGA (@USGA) July 8, 2024
“It was tough, tough, tough,” Nlareb said.
His golfing career was put on the back burner. But he wanted to stay in the game. So he got into coaching to help teach others and share his love for the sport.
The road back to the game
A couple of years went by, and Nlareb had an itch he just couldn’t scratch.
He missed competition. He wanted to play again. Even though he knew how difficult it would be.
He started competing and realized he still had game. He started to get his feelings back and slowly started rising in the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability.
Issa Nlareb lost both legs and multiple fingers after contracting bacterial meningitis at an Alps Tour event in 2018. He got his card back in 2022 and is now at the #USAdaptiveOpen pic.twitter.com/ZnqSiLDgak
— Cameron Jourdan (@Cam_Jourdan) July 8, 2024
“When I realize I could play again, I really decided to focus,” Nlareb said. “Golf is like riding a bicycle. You can just swing your swing.”
Before his injury, he was the top-rated player in Africa. When he returned, he quickly became one of the best disabled players in the world.
“It was easy for me to return because golf never got out of my brain.”
Becoming an inspiration
Nlareb quickly realized people were looking up to him.
They saw a guy with no legs, hardly any fingers and he was still smashing the golf ball and playing well.
“Just the image itself speaks,” Nlareb said of his playing abilities.
Issa Nlareb suffered from bacterial meningitis while competing at the Alps Tour's Ein Bay Open in Egypt.
The prognosis led to the amputation of both legs and multiple fingers.
He's the first Cameroonian to tee it up at the U.S. Adaptive Open. pic.twitter.com/eWL5jUHloo
— USGA (@USGA) July 7, 2024
Last year, he began to be an ambassador for the disabled golf community as well as a motivational speaker. He went to churches and schools. When Nlareb spoke, demonstrated his swing and shared his story, others cried.
“Even when I don’t speak, they call me and say, ‘Issa, I watched you on TV and it was amazing. You changed my life,'” Nlareb said.
“No, I don’t have fingers or legs, but life is happy. Playing golf, enjoying it. Every time is tough, but I keep on smiling to speak to the people.”
An invitation that was life-changing
When Nlareb’s plane arrived in Chicago for this trip, it was a life-long dream realized.
For years, he had been working to get to the United States to play golf. Yet he faced numerous challenges even outside of his disability. He didn’t have any money or sponsorships. He played throughout Europe, but getting to the U.S. was a different challenge.
When he got the invitation to play this week, it was a life-changing moment.
“If you asked me in the last three weeks if I was coming to the U.S., I would’ve said no,” Nlareb said. “When I landed, I realized this is my home. This is where I get to play golf.”
Nlareb opened with a 1-under 71 on Monday. He was one of 10 players to shoot under par in the first round and is T-8 in the overall men’s standings. He’s T-2 in the multiple limb amputee category.
Every time he sets his ball marker down, it’s a reminder to him about everything he has fought through, from sleeping on the streets, to battling back after losing his legs and most of his fingers.
Nlareb’s journey hasn’t been the easiest. But it has led him to Sand Creek Station where he has a chance to win the biggest championship for disabled golfers in the world.
“When I am in trouble, I don’t think if I will hit a bad shot or make double bogey,” Nlareb said. “I think about how I am still alive and can do anything.”
