Leah Bertuccelli postponed her cancer chemotherapy to attend the Los Angeles Country Club to support her boyfriend Corey Pereira in his first major appearance in an event hosted by the United States Golf Association.
"I had to be there because it's a significant milestone in Corey's career, and also an opportunity to repay the immense love he's shown me, especially during his critical illness. Even if the doctors didn't agree, I would still go," 26-year-old Bertuccelli told Golf Channel .
Bertuccelli (left) wants to accompany Pereira at his boyfriend's most important tournament. Photo: australiangolfdigest
After 10 rounds of chemotherapy at the Los Angeles Country Club, Bertuccelli walked alongside Pereira for nine practice holes, determined to continue moving until her boyfriend finished the official race.
In September 2022, Bertuccelli discovered a small lump in her pelvic area. Three weeks later, it had grown to the size of a golf ball. "At that time, I was healthy and had no unusual symptoms," she recounted.
However, test results confirmed that Bertuccelli had soft tissue cancer. This is a malignant disease, and most cases occur in children. In Bertuccelli's case, doctors said she was a rare case, as the probability of developing it in adults in their 20s is 1 in 200,000,000.
Due to the severity of his illness, doctors ordered immediate treatment. In the first seven weeks, Bertuccelli underwent 35 radiation treatments. This was followed by a course of 12 chemotherapy sessions. Since Bertuccelli fell ill, Pereira has prioritized golf over caring for him and taking him to the hospital, even though a month earlier, the American golfer had lost his Korn Ferry Tour membership, the second-tier tour in six years of professional play.
For the past eight months, Pereira hasn't competed in any tournaments, only practicing lightly to maintain his skills, and at one point even considered giving up professional golf altogether. However, thanks to encouragement from his family and girlfriend, he registered to play in the 2023 US Open qualifying round on April 26th.
Leah Bertuccelli (left) at a meal with her boyfriend Pereira in 2019, before she was diagnosed with cancer. Photo: Instagram
Having made it through this stage, Pereira entered the next qualifying round in Ohio to compete for 11 spots in the main tournament. There, he finished with a score of -9 after two matches in the same day. With this result, Pereira finished T3 and secured a spot to compete for the prestigious cup at the 123rd tournament in Los Angeles this week. Bertuccelli burst into tears when Pereira called to share the good news.
This year's US Open was on a par-70 course. Pereira shot 71, placing him T56 with a +1 score after the first round. In that position, he needed to play well in the next round to qualify for the tournament, as the organizers determined the cut-off point based on the top players or T60. However, Pereira was eliminated early, finishing the second round with a 76 and a gross score of +7, while the cut-off point was +2.
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