With this years RBC Canadian open in full swing, one of the more intriguing aspects of this year’s tournament is one of its participants, Garrett Rank, who managed to make the cut as an amateur golfer. But there’s more to Rank than meets the eye, especially considering that golf isn’t his full-time job.
A native of Elmira, Ontario, the 28-year old knows how to hold his own on a golf course, winning the Mid-Amateur Championship the last two years and is better known as one of the top amateur golfers in the world. To add to his resume, he was also recently promoted as a full-time NHL referee, having split his officiating time between the AHL and the NHL.
If there wasn’t any more reason to root for Rank, he is also a survivor of testicular cancer, which he was diagnosed with in 2011, and a time in his life that greatly affected the course of the NHL referee’s life.
“I thought to myself, ‘You’re a young athlete in great shape. You’re a good kid. You never did anything to deserve this.’ I always thought of it as a lie, or that it wasn’t actually true. That helped push me a long.”
While Rank is tied 36th on the board (seven shots behind leader Dustin Johnson), the fact that he’s made himself into one of the best amateur golfers in the game and is playing on a stage with well-established professionals is an impressive enough story in itself. If there’s one thing people can say about Rank, whether from his job as an NHL official or his battle with cancer, it’s that he’s one tough cookie to crack.
[TSN]
