Chloe Royston, who was born and brought up in South Africa, is among those who have Type 1 diabetes. Though she was diagnosed at age 7 and has needed full-scale attention ever since, no one would suggest that it has held her back.
“It’s become a part of my golf rather than a distraction,” said the 25-year-old Royston, who on March 22-23 played for the 10-strong Cambridge men’s team at England’s Rye Golf Club in its annual university match against Oxford. Would you believe that in the medal-play trial, from which the top two were to be awarded automatic places in the side, she finished joint first before winning an 18-hole playoff?
In her school days, Royston had reached the top of South Africa’s competitive ranks in swimming in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke and was well-placed to advance to the U.S. college scene. Alas, regular ear infections put a stop to that dream. For a Type 1 diabetic, a lifelong condition in which the pancreas makes little or no insulin and leads to high blood-sugar levels, those infections could have had more serious or longer-term implications.
Editor’s note: In the match, Royston claimed a 5-and-4 victory alongside Alexander Mair in foursomes and earned a half-point in singles as Cambridge lost to Oxford, 9½-5½. RESULTS
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