PGA Documentary Features Oklahoma Junior Golfer After Second Heart Transplant

The nation is about to meet a Cleveland County boy who is recovering from his second heart transplant. 12-year-old Jhett Skaggs grew to love the game of golf while he waited for the surgery. Now his story is inspiring the biggest names in the game. For Jh

Friday, April 26th 2019, 7:00 pm

By: News 9

Video Player is loading.

Current Time 0:00

Duration 0:00

Loaded: 0%

Stream Type LIVE

Remaining Time 0:00

PGA Documentary Features Oklahoma Junior Golfer After Second Heart Transplant

The nation is about to meet a Cleveland County boy who is recovering from his second heart transplant.

12-year-old Jhett Skaggs grew to love the game of golf while he waited for the surgery. Now his story is inspiring the biggest names in the game.

For Jhett, life looks more normal now than it ever has.

“I’ve got a better appetite. I’m a lot stronger, which helps because I can hit the ball a lot farther,” he said.

“He’s growing,” added Jhett’s dad Brian. “He went up two shoe sizes since we’ve been home, so that’s always a good thing.”

Jhett and his dad returned to Oklahoma in October, after spending six years in Houston waiting for his second heart transplant. Things have quieted down a lot since then.

“He really enjoys being home and just going outside and playing and being a kid,” Brian said.

The most important reunion for Jhett was with his mom and sister.

“My family is there 24/7, so that also helps,” Jhett said.

“Just the financial part of that has been phenomenal to all be under one roof,” Brian added.

News 9’s Jessi Mitchell met the 12-year-old at his new home course, The Trails Golf Club in Norman this week, joining him in the game they both love.

Golf has been his biggest outlet, spending most of his time playing with the PGA Junior League.

His story gained the attention of not only the national organization, but also his hero, Ricky Fowler.

“He’s a strong kid obviously,” Fowler said. “I mean, two heart transplants, just glad to see him doing well.”

Fowler’s interview is part of a PGA documentary premiering this weekend, highlighting Jhett and a Broken Arrow boy, who connected with Rory McElroy after fracturing his skull in a car crash.

“They have crazy schedules, but for those two guys to do that for those two boys is really remarkable,” Brian said of the pros,

Jhett hopes to one day join them on the tour. In the meantime, he will just keep swinging.

“Overall, we’re just kind of on cruise control for a while, and just kind of enjoy[ing] the days of him feeling really good,” Brian said.

You can see Jhett's story on CBS this Saturday, April 27 at 1 p.m. central.

","published":"2019-04-27T00:00:51.000Z","updated":"2019-04-26T23:57:58.000Z","summary":"The nation is about to meet a Cleveland County boy who is recovering from his second heart transplant. 12-year-old Jhett Skaggs grew to love the game of golf while he waited for the surgery. Now his story is inspiring the biggest names in the game. For Jh","affiliate":{"_id":"5cc353fe1c9d440000d3b70f","callSign":"kwtv","origin":"https://www.news9.com"},"contentClass":"news","createdAt":"2020-01-31T19:01:59.835Z","updatedAt":"2025-03-22T10:09:55.386Z","__v":9,"breakingNews":[],"entities":[{"_id":"6244c38e6880e45323ad19b9","text":"Jhett Skaggs","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"62421b2c6880e45323a3aece","text":"Jessi Mitchell","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"6244c38e6880e45323ad19cc","text":"Ricky Fowler","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"6244c38e6880e45323ad19df","text":"Rory McElroy","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"6241a79f6880e4532354829b","text":"Cleveland County","type":"LOCATION","__v":0},{"_id":"6238f1556880e45323d020b5","text":"Oklahoma","type":"LOCATION","__v":0},{"_id":"623a02076880e453237f0b48","text":"Houston","type":"LOCATION","__v":0},{"_id":"6239412e6880e453231115d3","text":"Norman","type":"LOCATION","__v":0},{"_id":"62421b1e6880e45323a395b9","text":"PGA","type":"ORGANIZATION","__v":0}],"hasBeenCheckedForEntities":true,"openInNewWindow":false,"rendered":8,"show":true,"link":"/story/5e3479a7527dcf49dad72ff4/pga-documentary-features-oklahoma-junior-golfer-after-second-heart-transplant","hasSchedule":false,"id":"5e3479a7527dcf49dad72ff4"};