Brigitte Thibault was practising for a mini-tour event outside Orlando, Fla., last December, when a recreational player on an adjacent hole shanked her hybrid off the fairway, firing the ball into the back of the young professional golfer's head.
Thibault's hands instinctively flew to the back of her head as she lost consciousness and sank to the ground.
"I remember the vibration because it was so loud in my head," recalled Thibault on Tuesday. "I remember thinking, 'what the hell just hit me?'
"Then I opened my eyes and I was on the ground. I remember looking at both of my hands and they were just full of red blood."
The 26-year-old from Rosemere, Que., was rushed to hospital where she was diagnosed with a concussion. The doctors also told her that she was "lucky" that the blood was flowing outwards and that there was no serious internal bleeding.
Indeed, she didn't even need any stitches.
Thibault said she basically slept non-stop for the next two weeks and then returned to the gym to build her strength back up. But the damage the accident did to her nervous system and the lingering post-traumatic stress disorder have been harder to shake.
"For like a week and a half to two weeks, I was waking up because I would re-feel the vibration or see the hands (covered in blood)," said Thibault. "It's strange to explain."
Even as she physically recovered and the nightmares faded, PTSD episodes continued to surprise Thibault for weeks after the incident.
"A dog barks or a baby would cry, it would trigger a whole panic attack, as if I was getting attacked," said Thibault, noting she hasn't had any episodes since the first week of February. "I'll feel like there's going to be a panic attack, but then I don't start crying or anything more.
"When the accident happened, I was so caught off guard (...) that anything that would catch me off guard, post that event, would alarm my whole nervous system."
Determined to return to her career, Thibault resumed playing competitive golf in March with her first event of 2025 sponsored by the same company as the fateful mini-tour event, also in the Orlando area.
"I was driving to the course, and I started crying, because I was just like, 'this feels too much the same,'" she said. "It's strange to explain.
"I mean, I still don't know if something's gonna pop out, but for now, I feel pretty much back to my normal self."
Thibault is now playing on the Epson Tour, the feeder circuit for the top-flight LPGA Tour, and has appeared in six events so far this year. Although she hasn't gotten the results she'd like, missing the cut in her past five tournaments, she feels like her game is close.
"It's been a bit of a bummer," said Thibault. "I missed the last four cuts by one, so it's been kind of hard on that end.
"But again, my game is moving in the right direction, and my stats are moving where I want them to move to, so I've just got to stay the course."
Thibault is one of eight Canadians in the field at this week's Hartford HealthCare Women's Championship.
She'll be joined at Great River Golf Club in Milford, Conn., by Maddie Szeryk of London, Ont., Vancouver's Leah John, Monet Chun of Richmond Hill, Ont., Yeji Kwon of Port Coquitlam, B.C., Josee Doyon of Saint-Georges, Que., Brooke Rivers of Brampton, Ont., and Mary Parsons of Delta, B.C.
Thibault, who won bronze in the mixed team event with Parsons, Joey Savoie and Austin Connelly at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, said that it's one of her favourite stops on the Epson Tour.
"It's always really pure, I like the course set up," she said. "It makes me think of an LPGA Tour event, and there's always a lot of people that come out.
"It feels like home in a sense."
LPGA TOUR — Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., returns to the Amundi Evian Championship, the fourth major on the women's golf calendar. She won the tournament in 2023 but is currently ranked 49th in the Race to CME Globe standings.
PGA TOUR — Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., is the top-ranked Canadian at the Genesis Scottish Open, an event co-hosted by the PGA Tour and the Europe-based DP World Tour. He's ranked 13th in the FedEx Cup rankings. Conners will be joined by Nick Taylor (17th) of Abbotsford, B.C., Taylor Pendrith (35th) of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Mackenzie Hughes (53d) of Dundas, Ont. Aaron Cockerill of Stony Mountain, Man., the only Canadian on the DP World Tour, is also in the field. He's 98th on that circuit's points list.
CHAMPIONS TOUR — Calgary's Stephen Ames is the lone Canadian in this week's DICK'S Open. He's ranked 39th on the Schwab Cup points list heading into play at En-Joie Golf Club in Endicott, N.Y.
KORN FERRY TOUR — Myles Creighton of Digby, N.S., leads the Canadian contingent into The Ascendant presented by Blue. He's ranked 17th on the second-tier tour's points list. Creighton will be joined at TPC Colorado in Berthoud by Sudarshan Yellamaraju (20th) of Mississauga, Ont., Vancouver's Stuart Macdonald (37th), Matthew Anderson (53rd) of Mississauga, Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., and Etienne Papineau (143rd) of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.
PGA TOUR AMERICAS — A.J. Ewart of Port Coquitlam, B.C., is the highest ranked Canadian on the third-tier Americas Tour heading into this week's tournament. He's 16th on the points list heading into the Bromont Open. There are 16 Canadians in the field at Golf Chateau-Bromont.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2025.
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
