SOUTHPORT, England — David Howard was aged 7 when he was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. By the time he was a teenager — well before recent medical advances for this rare genetic condition — he’d found out via internet searches he wasn’t expected to live beyond his mid-20s.
Imagine, then, how blessed this Irishman, now 27, feels to be walking the sun-kissed fairways of Royal Birkdale this week and about to take on the best golfers in the world at The Open Championship.
“Here I am, as healthy as ever and playing at The Open. It’s just nuts,” Howard said with a smile at the back of the 18th green after his first practice round, in the company of former champions Padraig Harrington and Shane Lowry. “Yeah, I’d like to think I’m an inspiration.”
Being a qualified mechanic and No. 1,456 in the world amateur rankings ensures Howard, who came through one of four local qualifying events to take his place in golf’s oldest major, is no normal Open participant.
Also making him different is what he packs in his golf bag for each round: As important as his clubs is his medication, with Howard taking up to 30 tablets a day to prevent infection and help digest food properly.
Cystic fibrosis causes thick, sticky mucus to build up in the body, which can lead to damage, blockages and infections in the lungs and other affected organs.
There’s no cure for this condition that requires life-long care, but new treatments can manage symptoms and have given Howard a new lease of life.
He doesn’t hide away from his previous struggles. Like turning to alcohol in his late teenage years when thinking he “wasn’t going to be here much longer” or what he described as “manic episodes and psychosis” during the pandemic when he couldn’t get out of bed or talk to anyone for weeks.
Now, he has gotten his life together. He decided to stop working as a mechanic at the end of 2023 — he still dabbles in it, mainly fixing his family members’ cars — and focus full-time on golf.
That comes with its health benefits, too.
“As a mechanic, working in dusty garages probably wasn’t ideal for me,” Howard said. “Being in the fresh air, around the coastlines with salty air, it’s really good. Hot weather is also good for CF, but there’s just a few things you need to keep on top of.”
He takes digestive enzymes every time he eats to break down fatty foods, so plenty of them will be needed for each round at Birkdale, where his caddie will be his father, John. The cystic fibrosis unit in his local hospital in Cork, Ireland, gives him a daily plan and advice.
Planning on going to Q-School
Howard can still get sick, especially after flights, but instead of being hospitalized two or three times a year, he now can get by with a two-week course of antibiotics.
“It’s great we are living longer with CF compared to before,” he said. “Loads of positives to take from it — living adulthood is the next challenge, but that’s a great thing to have to worry about.”
It’s clear Howard cannot believe the position he has found himself in as he embarks on a golfing career that has already seen him win the East of Ireland championship and represent Ireland in home internationals. He will attend qualifying school later this year in an attempt to become a professional on the European tour.
Since qualifying for the Open last month, Howard has been contacted by kids with cystic fibrosis and their parents, who have said they are using him as “someone to look up to.”
“It’s a big thing,” he said. “Growing up with CF, it’s a lonely enough thing — you don’t meet other people with CF and really chat to them about it. So you’re figuring it out all on your own.
“It’s good to show that not everything is negative and there are positives to take from it. That you can follow your dreams and get at it.”
