Golf Ireland has launched a new participation series titled Our Game, designed to highlight how individuals engage with golf across four distinct stories.
The premier episode features Royal Portrush golfer Judithe Allen, detailing her breast cancer diagnosis, the discovery of a rare BRCA2 gene, and her return to competitive Inter-Club golf following a double mastectomy.
Allen was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 25 following a family history of the disease. Her mother was first diagnosed at age 42 and battled cancer for 15 years.
“When I first got diagnosed with breast cancer I thought, not me, I’m 25. How is this possible?” said Allen.
Throughout her diagnosis and her mother's illness, Allen found mental respite on the golf course.
“Golf was always good for my mental health. Just to escape everything that was going on at home. My mum was 42 when she was first diagnosed, she had a 15-year battle with cancer,” Allen recalled. “She always said to me, there was a reason why you were diagnosed so young because she was there to get me through it.”
Following a double mastectomy in November, Allen used returning to golf as a goal to aid her recovery. Ten months later, in May, she represented Royal Portrush at the AIG Women’s Senior Cup.
“When I realised I could start getting back on course it was definitely a turning point in my recovery,” Allen said. “I was thinking, I still have that competitive edge in me and I was just really thankful to be back out playing. It wasn’t about winning, it was about being out there.”
Reflecting on her return to top-level club competition, she added: “Senior Cup was the May, my surgery was the previous November, and the Senior Cup captain came to me and said: ‘how are you feeling?’ I said: ‘I am ready’. I thought I would never play golf again, especially to the standard I was before. Women’s Senior Cup I was probably playing the best golf I had ever played.”
Allen’s episode marks the beginning of Golf Ireland’s four-part initiative. Subsequent episodes in the Our Game series will examine:
Watch the first episode here.
Source: Golf Ireland
