# Jackson Jobe’s father gives health update on Tigers pitcher: ‘He’ll be ready, I promise’
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Jackson, Brandt said, is in Arlington, Texas, working with pysicial therapists for Dr. Keith Meister, who performed the surgery. Brandt said Jackson’s progression has been impressive. During a recent checkup, doctors told Jobe that he’s almost got his complete range of motion back. Brandt said Jackson has a target date of Dec. 15 for throwing his first pitch.
“I will tell you, he went to them (doctors) and said, 'Tell me what to do, and that’s all I’m going to do. And I’m going to do it to a T,” Brandt said Tuesday afternoon, before a pro-am at Warwick Hills. "Because they gave him examples of so many guys that have overdone it.
“But I asked him, ‘How’s it going?’ He’s like, ‘It’s unbelievable.’”
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“You know what, I will tell you this. And this is my two cents. Everything’s gone so fast for him,” Brandt said. "I mean from high school (where he didn’t pitch until he was a senior) … and all of a sudden, he’s in the draft, and then all of a sudden he’s the third pick. And then he goes out in the minor leagues, and boom, the next thing, he’s in Double A and then he’s in the major leagues, throwing against Houston (in the playoffs). He said, ‘I’m facing (Jose) Altuve.’ He goes, ‘This is crazy!’ So I think what it (the injury) has done, it’s kind of put everything in perspective for him, and I think he’s going to appreciate it a little bit more.
"I mean, when things happen so fast, you don’t have a chance to look at what you’re achieving, right? And sometimes you miss how big those steps are. And I think when you see him come back, I think there’s going to be an appreciation, not that he doesn’t appreciate it, but an appreciation for Major League Baseball.
“I think that the reality of not being there right now, when they’re playing, he’s like, ‘It sucks.’ But he goes, ‘You know what, I’m going to come back better, I’m going to come back stronger, I’m going to come back and I’m going to be ready to go and be ready to fight for a position, because this is what I do.’”
Brandt said Jackson has never dealt with injuries much during his rise up the athletic food chain, other than a banged-up thumb once in high school, where, as the quarterback, he hit it on another player’s helmet.
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Meanwhile, Brandt, 60, has dealt with a number of injuries over the course of his professional golf career, which began in 1988 and saw him have modest success on the PGA Tour (he once lost in a playoff to Phil Mickelson; he has four runner-up finishes and multiple top-20s in majors), before winning twice on PGA Tour Champions, most recently in 2019.
Brandt once suffered a freak injury during a push-broom accident in his garage, which led to hand and wrist surgery in the early 2000s, and that stalled his PGA Tour career. This week marks his 495th tournament between the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions (50-and-older), and he’s still living his dream ― he finished tied for seventh two weeks ago ― while helping nurture his son’s dream. Brandt is trying to help Jackson, who most recently was rehabbing in Lakeland, Florida, before heading to Arlington recently for more PT, cope with his injury.
“We actually had a big talk about it,” Brandt said at Warwick, which will host the eighth annual Ally Challenge from Friday through Sunday. “And I said, ‘You know what, you can’t control what has happened. You can control what’s going to happen.’ And I said, you know, ‘God’s given you an opportunity to go out there and bust your ass, take every advantage of everybody you have and learn.’ (Ask yourself), ‘Why could this have happened? What can I do better?’ He’s like, ‘Dad, you’re right.’ Because he’s been in strength and conditioning. The kid’s in great shape. I mean, it’s ridiculous. But he could be in better pitching shape.”