Norman, After Heritage Golf Victory, Keeps in Touch With Leukemia Patient

Jamie Hutton has the championship trophy from the Heritage golf tournament, the one Greg Norman gave to him.

Now Hutton, 18, who has leukemia, would like to see his golf hero again in Australia, a trip that had been planned for later this month and has been sponsored by several groups including an Australian radio station in Adelaide.

But his doctors say Hutton can’t go. Released from University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics 3 weeks ago, he still is recuperating from a bone marrow transplant.

Last spring, Hutton met his idol, Norman, at the Heritage tournament at Hilton Head Island, S.C., through arrangements made by a Wisconsin group that provides trips for sick youths.

The two became friends, and Hutton was Norman’s sidekick throughout the tournament. When Norman won and gave the trophy to Hutton, the story received international attention.

Hutton had just overcome Crohn’s Disease, an inflammation of the intestines, before he found out he had leukemia.

He was supposed to have a bone marrow transplant a few weeks after the Heritage, but several delays postponed the operation to June 3. His brother Michael was the donor.

Since then Hutton has been troubled by the adverse reaction of his bone marrow to the bone marrow he received.

Norman has not forgotten him. He has continually been in touch since the Heritage.

“His support through his telephone calls means so much,” said Garnett Hutton, Jamie’s father. “He adds a real nice personal touch. He’s constantly checking up on him.”

And Hutton, who had to spend his 18th birthday in a bed on Sept. 18, may have an opportunity to go to Australia in February.

“I’m getting stronger every day,” he said. “It’s really slow and that’s discouraging. But you see improvement every day.

“This just takes time.”