SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — As Chad Pfeifer lay in bed in the Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, his amputated left leg still heavily bandaged, his fractured right ankle in a cast, his head was full of demons and doubts.

Deployed to Iraq in 2006 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Pfeifer's patrol vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device in April 2007, ripping apart his body and life. Despite the efforts of doctors, Pfeifer's left leg was amputated above the knee.

The horror of war would not get out of his head, either, as he rehabbed at Fort Sam Houston. Nor would the uncertainty of his future. Always athletic, he wondered if he would play sports again. He wondered what he would do for a living. He wondered if he'd get the girl.

And he wondered if he'd make it to the next week.

"Emotionally, it was a roller coaster for me," Pfeifer, 33, said as he sat in the media center at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. "The medications didn't help. There were plenty of days I was extremely depressed. I know a lot of guys go through that.

"But I finally realized I was fortunate that I was still above the ground."

Pfeifer's depressive state took a turn upward when he fell in love with, of all things, golf. Pfeifer had thought the game was for those older and richer. But fellow soldier Christian Bagge, who lost both of his legs in Iraq (one above the knee; the other below the knee), showed Pfeifer golf can be enjoyed by people of all stripes.

"He came to cheer me up. He said when I get up on a prosthetic, we should get out of the hospital and do something. He said let's play golf," Pfeifer said. "At first I thought this dude was crazy. But then I thought if this guy is missing two legs and playing golf, I'm not going to tell him he's crazy."

Pfeifer got his prosthetic and joined Bagge on the range. Within the first bucket of balls, Pfeifer was hooked. Ten months after the explosion in Iraq, Pfeifer played his first full round of golf.

Four years later he won the 2011 National Amputee Golf Championship.

Now, he wants to become the first amputee to make it to the PGA Tour. Pfeifer is one of 12 players who will compete in the 23rd season of Golf Channel's Big Break, the reality show in which more than $120,000 in cash and prizes up are for grabs, including an exemption to the 2015 Barbasol Championship on the PGA Tour for the winner.

The show premieres today.

Pfeifer, who plays out of the Golf Club of Estrella in his hometown of Goodyear, Ariz., is playing golf full time. The graduate of the Golf Academy of America in Phoenix plays mini-tours in the area and will try today to qualify at Tour stops this season. He also is thinking about playing in the Q School for the Web.com Tour.

"Golf saved my life," Pfeifer said. "At first I tried to just beat the crap out of the ball. It was a stress reliever. And it gave me something to look forward to the next day and the next day and the next day.

"I would do therapy in the mornings and then go hit balls. For me to be able to get outside, first of all, was therapy in itself. I was on different terrains and it was good practice for me getting used to the prosthetic.

"And it gave me a release."

Because of his prosthetic, balance was and remains his biggest challenge on the golf course. He has to keep most of his weight on his back foot -- which is not the prescribed method for golfers -- and he tries to fall forward with his body after impact. Thus, he loses a lot of shots to the right.

Giving up length for accuracy, he still can pump the driver 275 yards. And the more he plays, the more he gets used to the prosthetic and his swing, which is kind of like a reverse stack and tilt.

"Just knowing I was golfing instead of being dead," Pfeifer said when asked how he dealt with the frustration golf produces. "Even to this day, even when I hit a bad shot, I know there are a lot worse alternatives. As serious as I take my game and try and take it to the next level, there is still a sense that I'm happy that I'm playing golf instead of being six feet under."

As golf helped get him back on track, Pfeifer also got the girl. Turns out, as he turned his life around, he got reacquainted with a girl he knew in junior high school named Summer. They had dated for one week back then.

"She broke up with me because I was too nice," Pfeifer said, smiling. "She wanted a bad boy back then."

The two were married in October 2008 and have two children -- Grady, 2½, and Lucien, 10 months. The three are his top priority as he tries to live out his dream on the PGA Tour. During that journey, the retired Army corporal hopes to inspire others to discover the joys of the game of golf.

"A lot of guys committed suicide coming back after what they came through, and I hope a lot of guys can find something, whether it's golf or fishing or hunting or any hobby, and be passionate about and keep them looking forward to the next day. They can see my story and find something," Pfeifer said. "People with disabilities, too, not just wounded veterans. All people can find out how golf is such a great game."

For Pfeifer, it was a lifesaver.

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