'My Right Arm Starts Shaking And I Can't Control That'

John Senden, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, has revealed that he has been battling Parkinson’s disease for the past 18 months. 

Senden, who was playing the Australian PGA Championship this week, plans to keep playing despite the condition and he has played the Champions Tour this year where he finished 83rd on the money list.

"I've got to stay in the gym, stay fit and stay open, because Parkinson's wants to close you down, wants to make you feel a bit more depressed," Senden told ABC Sport. "It doesn't actually undermine my strength, it just sort of makes me feel a bit weird sometimes.

"I can be on the range warming up and feeling really good but as soon as the anticipation of hitting the first shot or a difficult shot or even the name called on the 1st tee, all of a sudden my right arm starts shaking and I can't control that sometimes.

"I sort of stretch it or trigger it or get some bigger movements to get through this. It's not going to go away but I'm still able to play and still enjoying golf."

The 52-year-old has been as high as 28th in the world and his CV boasts wins at the John Deere in 2006 and the 2014 Valspar Championship.

On his bag this week was his son, Jacob, who Senden took over a year off from playing after the then 13-year-old was rushed to hospital with a brain tumour and told that he had two hours to live in 2017. Countless sessions of chemotherapy and radiation then followed and he was by his dad's side this week.

“It’s really something else to see him out there thriving. He's our only son so we've got to try and get it right."