By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer
OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — What Alistair Docherty thought was smoke was really the powder bursting out of the freshly deployed airbag.
There was no mistaking the blood and glass covering everything in the wrecked white minivan.
Docherty was driving May 20 when he got T-boned in an intersection, two days before the Korn Ferry’s Visit Knoxville Open. On June 2, the 31-year-old, who missed his PGA Tour card by two spots at the end of last season, qualified for the U.S. Open.
At 6:45 a.m. Thursday, Docherty will tee off at Oakmont. It’s no stretch to say he’s happy to be here, but Docherty wants more than just a good memory to close out this wild three weeks.
“It’s not a miracle,” Docherty said after wrapping up a practice round that hardly looked possible less than a month ago, as he was tangled in the blood and glass. “I’m very thankful. But it’s definitely where I believe I’m supposed to be. Everything works out for a reason. I’m just trying to take advantage.”
The pictures tell the story best.
One is of the passenger’s side of the minivan, sitting in the grass near the intersection, crumpled almost beyond recognition after getting slammed by an SUV that ran a red light.
Another is Docherty lying in a hospital bed, lips pierced, eyes barely open, wearing a hospital gown draped over part of his neck collar.
“My car spun around a few times. I felt glass and everything come at me,” Docherty said. “I opened my eyes and thought I saw smoke. I jumped out of the car as quickly as possible. It ended up being the stuff coming out of the airbag. I walked around a little dazed, and I was covered in blood and glass.”
At the hospital, doctors and nurses were able to clean the glass off his body — no major damage there. The scans came back clean — nothing broken, either.
Docherty said his shoulder and legs took the brunt of the crash. Constant work with the physical therapist allowed him to set his sites on June 2 at Duke University Golf Club. He shot 72-64 in the 36-hole qualifier to earn one of seven spots available there.
The third part of that photo essay is him holding his invitation to play in the U.S. Open this week.
Docherty knows he’s lucky to be here but he’s aiming for more — knowing a strong performance in this, his first major, could result in his second life-changing moment in a month.
“This is a great test to see where my game is at right now,” he said. “If you show up thinking ‘I don’t have a chance here,’ then you’re done. so, I believe I have a chance to play my best here and see where it puts me.”