BANGOR – The independence associated with being a pro golfer has both its good points and its bad points.

On the plus side, you’re generally working outside in the sunshine and warm weather, traveling the world doing something many people would love to do.

On the down side, the benefit package for illness and injury is nonexistent.

Shannon Sykora of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who finished fifth in the Greater Bangor Open golf tournament last week, has experienced both sides.

He plays in the U.S. in the summer and in South America in the winter.

“Wins, I had 11 on the North Atlantic Tour, once on the Teardrop Tour, two South American [Tour] events, and the New Hampshire Open,” said the 31-year-old Sykora, who has been a traveling pro since 1997.

One of his wins was in the South American Tour qualifier in Caracas, Venezuela, in 2000. His score of 18-under-par 262 broke Roberto DeVicenzo’s 72-hole record at Valle Ariba. He trounced the field by 11 strokes.

It was also in South America early last year, though, that he injured himself, eventually bringing his golf to a standstill.

“I got hurt in Paraguay, and I withdrew,” said Sykora. “I didn’t know what it was.”

It turned out to be a torn labrum in his left shoulder. The labrum is a piece of soft fibrous tissue which helps hold the upper arm bone in place in the shoulder joint. According to an American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Web site, the labrum can be injured by repetitive shoulder motion.

“I’ve heard of other people who’ve had it, but I don’t think it’s too common,” said Sykora.

Sykora said he tried Advil and iced the shoulder every night. It didn’t help, but he disliked the alternative, too.

“I didn’t want surgery,” said Sykora, who waited about three months from the time of the injury until actually having the surgery done in May 2002.

“It’s normally a pitcher’s injury,” said Sykora. “I did rehab like a major league pitcher.”

Rehab was a long process.

“I didn’t touch a club for exactly four months afterward,” said Sykora, who still had some soreness when he started up again in September.

“I thought it would be easier for me to get back, but it’s been slow,” he said.

He’s just glad to be feeling better, though.

“You’re health is the most important thing anyway,” said Sykora. “I don’t even care about the golf.”

Leavitt tournament approaching

Spots are still available for the 12th Bud and Barbara Leavitt Memorial Jimmy Fund Golf Classic, scheduled for Monday at Penobscot Valley Club in Orono.

As of Wednesday, 23 teams had signed up for the selected shot scramble event, according to Kelli Hurley, a member of the planning committee from tournament sponsor UNICEL.

“We have at least 20 spots available,” she said. The cost is $125 per player, which includes golf, cart, and post-tourney dinner.

The tournament, named for former Bangor Daily News Executive Sports Editor Bud Leavitt and his wife Barbara, raises money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston for cancer research and treatment. Both Leavitts died of cancer, in 1994 and 1990, respectively, and Barbara Leavitt liked helping the Jimmy Fund.

“We’ve raised up to $20,000 per tournament in the past,” said Hurley. “We hope to do better this year.”

The committee also raises money by hosting a sports memorabilia auction afterward, at PVCC’s dining facility, that’s open to the public as well as the tournament participants.

Major auction items include a print of a number of University of Maine men’s hockey players who had advanced to the NHL plus former UM coach Shawn Walsh.

Signatures of all of the players – including Paul Kariya, Garth Snow, Mike Dunham, Scott Pellerin, and Bob Beers – and Walsh, who died Sept. 24, 2001, are on the print, which is one of a limited edition of 500.

Other auction items include a photo of Baseball Hall of Famers Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox and Johnny Bench of the Cincinnati Reds, a basketball autographed by former Boston Celtics player and coach K.C. Jones, and a baseball signed by former New York Yankee star reliever Goose Gossage.

On-site registration begins at 9:30 a.m. Monday, the tournament has an 11:30 shotgun start, and the auction will start at about 5-5:30 p.m.

For more information, call 974-0145 or 745-GOLF (voicemail) or e-mail jimmyfund@rccw.com.

Dave Barber can be reached at 990-8170, 1-800-310-8600, or by e-mail at dbarber@bangordailynews.net.