Many things in life come down to a matter of perspective.

Gunner Wiebe can relate to that much more than he could a couple of months ago.

The Colorado native and Aurora resident shot an 8-under-par 64 on Friday at the CoBank Colorado Open in a round that was all the more amazing considering the backstory.

Wiebe, son of PGA/Champions Tour player Mark Wiebe — who is caddying for Gunner this week at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club — is playing his first tournament in about two months.

The reason for the layoff?

Over Memorial Day weekend just south of Tijuana, Mexico, a “freak accident” that could have been life-threatening turned out to be “only” very serious.

While moving luggage into a vacation home, Wiebe didn’t realize that a sliding glass door had been closed. He walked right through it, and the single-pane, non-tempered glass shattered. In addition to cutting Wiebe’s hand — though not too severely — the underside of his upper right arm was sliced very, very deeply.

“To think, if it’s a little bit deeper cut, it hits my artery and I’m not here …,” Wiebe said Friday.

Instead, the glass cut all through the fat tissue and muscle, and internal and external stitches were required to close the wound.

“You’re in Mexico,” Wiebe noted. “(The person treating him) did the best he could. (But) I felt a little bit like I was a pet at a vet.”

After the stitches were in for 13 days, Wiebe developed a staph infection.

After weeks of rehab and about six weeks without making a full swing with a golf club, Wiebe genuinely missed the game, but is now back playing tournament golf. Friday marked his ninth day of full swings, and after two rounds of the Colorado Open, the former CGA Player of the Year finds himself in contention for the title at 8-under-par 136.

He’s showed pictures of the initial arm wound to doctors and they “remind me of how lucky I am to be alive,” he said. “It’s a good reminder for me. And I think it’s helped me a lot in golf. My game probably isn’t anywhere near where I want it to be, but I scored really well today probably because my perspective has changed.

“You’ve probably seen me out here when I get a little hot. Today I had a couple of times where I could have gotten upset. I just don’t really care about the small stuff anymore, which I think I probably needed.”

As for the golf itself, Wiebe on Friday made eight birdies in a bogey-free round.

“I played pretty good all things considered.,” he said. “I haven’t shot anything that low in a while. It was nice. I wasn’t expecting it. I didn’t expect anything.

“My swing still feels weird and my arm is weak. It’s weird to be on the golf course because I haven’t been on the course in two months. It’s fun. I missed it and I’m glad I’m back, but it still feels like I’m trying to find my bearings a little bit.”

But again, it’s all a matter of perspective. Wiebe is just happy to be back on the course and isn’t sweating the small stuff nearly as much.

“It’s been a long couple of months, and I’ve been bored out of my mind,” he said. “My swing is probably worse right now, but I’m alive so I’m OK with everything.”

For scores from the Colorado Open, CLICK HERE.
 

Twice in their last five appearances at the event which features 18 teams from the western U.S., Mexico and Canada, the Coloradans have matched their best finishes ever by placing third. And overall, Colorado has posted three top-four finishes since 2011.

With that as background, the 2016 team will compete later this month, marking Colorado’s 32nd appearance in the JAC, which dates back to 1973. In the first JAC event held in Mexico since 1994, the tournament is scheduled for July 26-28 in Guadalajara.

Back on the CGA squad for the second straight year will be Jackson Solem of Longmont and Davis Bryant of Aurora. Rounding out the 2016 team will be Cole Krantz of Windsor and Daniel Pearson of Longmont.

Jackson won titles in both the 2015 4A state high school championship and this year’s Big I Junior Classic. He placed 38th individually at the 2015 JAC.

Bryant qualified for the 2015 U.S. Junior Amateur and placed third recently in the national PGA Junior Series event at Eisenhower Golf Club at the Air Force Academy. He also played in the pro-junior team portion of last year’s First Tee Open at Pebble Beach PGA Tour Champions event. Bryant was 49th individually at last year’s JAC.

Krantz won the 2015 Colorado PGA Junior Championship and qualified for the PGA Junior Championship. He advanced to the semifinals of the 2015 CGA Junior Match Play and finished seventh recently in the U.S. Junior Amateur qualfier.

Pearson placed second last month at the Colorado Junior Amateur and was fourth last year in that event’s predecessor, the CGA Junior Stroke Play. He also won the high school portion of the 2015 Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational and has qualified for the 2016 Optimist International Junior tourney.

To read about the CWGA’s Girls JAC team, CLICK HERE.