PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Marnus Marais has the most valuable hands in golf.
“There’s no doubt about it,” said Gary Woodland, the 2019 U.S. Open champion and a client for the last two years. “He’s unbelievable.”
Marais, a physical therapist who has worked on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, makes sure the bodies of some of the best players in the world are running like a Ferrari. He will be put to the test this week at the Players Championship as one his clients, a guy ranked No. 1 in the world, needed some special attention from his magical hands on Friday.
“I hit a shot on my second hole today and I felt a little something in my neck, and then I tried to hit my tee shot on 12, and that’s when I could barely get the club back,” explained Scottie Scheffler. “So I got some treatment, maybe it loosened up a tiny bit, but most of the day I was pretty much laboring to get the club somehow away from me.”
Marnus Marais videos client Gary Woodland on the range at Riviera Country Club. (Adam Schupak/Golfweek)
During the second round, Marais provided treatment behind a ShotLink partition off the 14th green and on a porte-potty floor deck heading to the 16th tee. Scheffler rushed to get more treatment after the round. He’s in good hands with Marais, a South African whose clients are some of the best in the game. Let’s call them the Magnificent Seven – Scheffler, Woodland, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth, Adam Scott and Zach Johnson. (Three of the top seven in the world and the other four all majors winners is none too shabby.) Woodland and Scott squeezed into Marais’s stable when Dustin Johnson and Louis Oosthuizen left for LIV Golf.
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“Knock on wood since I’ve been with him I’ve been healthy – outside of my brain,” said Woodland, who underwent brain surgery in September, with a chuckle.
Marais already was working with some of the top talent when Dr. Troy Van Biezen, who had spent more than 20 years as one of the leading chiropractors, shifted away from his road warrior existence. He accepted a position as director of sports performance and science with the NHL’s Dallas Stars. Van Biezen recommended Marais to take over as the body guy for his longtime clients, including Scheffler.
“Marnus came and talked to us about it,” Woodland said. “We were all in agreement with it that we could adjust the schedule and make it work. It’s the best guys in the world and the energy is amazing.”
This weekend, the most valuable hands in golf will more than earn his keep.
Marnus Marais is Tour physio to the Magnificent Seven. (Adam Schupak/Golfweek)