Back from the brink ... Queensland golfer Rika Batibasaga. Source: Hamish Blair / AAP
TWO moments - separated by three years - have defined Rika Batibasaga's career.
"In 2008 I went over to Orlando," Batibasaga said.
"I was living with Jason Day. I actually caddied for him at an event. Just getting a taste, being so close to all those boys, being on the range - I wanted it so much.
"I just pushed myself way too hard mentally and physically. I started doing 10 or 11-hour days of hitting ridiculous amounts of balls and doing the gym.
"Before I knew it I was that stressed and wired I couldn't sleep. I went 5 1/2 days without sleeping. There was something inside me that snapped."
What followed was a moment that threatened to end more than just his golf career. Batibasaga, his mind a sleep-deprived mess, ripped off his clothes and jumped into a friend's car. "I crashed the first one into the garage," he said.
"Without even breaking step I got into another car, drove out and was driving around Orlando. I got arrested out the front of Universal Studios without any clothes on by cops at gunpoint.
"A cop here and a cop there (pointing to his temples), through the windows pointing their guns at me.
"They're going mental at me. They ripped me out of the car, cuffed my hands, cuffed my legs. They thought I was on drugs, gone. They rang the ambulance. They cuffed me to the bed in the ambulance and a cop got in the back of the ambulance.
"They took me to the hospital. By this time, I was that gone and screaming to the doctor: 'just kill me, just kill me, I am done'. I woke up in the morning and I remembered everything.
"They checked my system and there were no drugs. They took me to a mental institution in Florida. They had no idea who I was. I was in there two days and that was the scariest time of my life. It was horrendous."
Batibasaga was eventually released and made his way back to Orlando. Day - he and Batibasaga grew up playing golf together - made sure his mother flew over and escorted him back to Brisbane, where he spent another two months in an institution as the medication helped his equilibrium return.
Three years later, his life back on track, Batibasaga was standing on the practice fairway at the Palmer Coolum Resort on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, preparing for the Australian PGA, when Ulsterman Darren Clarke and super-agent Andrew "Chubby" Chandler walked by.
"Chubby was watching, keeping a keen eye," Batibasaga said.
"When I left to do some putting Chubby called my coach over, Kevin Healey. They got to chatting. Chubby asked a few questions. A month or two went past and I was at the Victorian Open this year. I got a call from Chubby. I thought it was a gee-up. He goes 'no it's Chubby Chandler'.
"He said: 'we have taken a look at you and I would like to give you an opportunity and help you'. Before I knew it, I was in the UK, spent six months there and he looked after me.
"I was living in his offices - there is an apartment attached to the ISM offices in Manchester. I was playing the Euro Pro Tour. Chubby looked after everything."
Batibasaga, 25, had two top-10 results on the Euro Pro tour and finished the year in 43rd place on the money list. More importantly, he picked up life experiences that have steeled him for the challenging path ahead. He showed the benefits with a share of 25th at the Perth International last month, winning a cheque for $19,653.
He hasn't forgotten the past either. Batibasaga still has the green uniform from his stint at the Lakeside Mental Institution and he shares his story with schoolchildren, warning them not to be ashamed if they are having problems.
"It's a bit therapeutic for me to let it all out," he said.
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