Golf’s next big thing, the boy who beat leukaemia
A 6ft 9in Briton is chasing a spot on the European Tour after a heartwarming tale of resilience, writes James Corrigan
Sarah will never forget her son of seven asking if he was going to die
One more push for Jonathan Thomson, just one more push for golf ’s next big thing, and he will achieve his dream of a European Tour card.
It is fair to call Thomson the next big thing in golf, because at 6ft 9in he will be the biggest thing in golf. If he lands one of the 25 spots on offer at qualifying school today, he will become the tallest golfer ever to hold playing privileges on one of the main tours.
Obviously, this curio alone would ensure he stands out on the fairways, yet when the observers hear his story they will realise there is much more to the 21-year-old from Rotherham. Indeed, his climb to the top is a prime example of sport’s enduring ability to inspire.
Sarah Thomson will never forget her sevenyear-old son asking if he was going to die. A happy child, who was given the nickname “Jigger” because of his propensity to dance in his nappies, he had just had lymphoblastic leukaemia diagnosed.
Chemotherapy was started immediately and for four years he was in and out of Shefffield’s Children Hospital. “There were times when it was touch and go,” Sarah said. These were obviously very dark days, and were cruelly made darker still for the boy by his inability to play the contact sports he loved. He found the light on the range.
His father, Nigel, was, and still is, the steward at Rotherham Golf Club, and there a group of older children, including the future Masters champion, Danny Willett, taught Thomson golf ’s basics. He was bitten by the bug, but the real disease inside would allow him only to hit a few shots before needing to sit.
“I’d watch the other lads hit ball after ball and it was frustrating,” he said. “But that taught me to make each shot as good as I could.”
Thomson stunned everyone at the age of nine, when winning an under-11s tournament. There he was in between courses of treatment, requiring a dispensation to use a buggy, and there he was beating older boys. He was clearly something special.
By 11, he was in remission and a semblance of normality could return to his life. At 12, he was picked for Yorkshire Under-16s and later for England Under-16s, rising through the age groups before representing the seniors as a teenager. Last August, he took the plunge.
Thomson impressed on the Europro Tour – the third tier in European golf – but last month fell agonisingly short of gaining a Challenge Tour card by coming in the top five of the money list. Finishing sixth was not about to derail his mission, however.
With a couple of European Tour invites, Thomson has hinted he has what is required. He was fourth going into the final round at the Czech Masters, before an 81, and then finished 25th at the Portuguese Masters.
Thomson is a stablemate of Tyrrell Hatton at Firesports.
“You won’t be surprised to hear that Jigger can hit it extreme distances,” Hatton told me. “He has a nice touch, as well. If he can learn to harness all that power, he will be a right handful.”
A right handful and a role model. “He is a lovely person, a real gentle giant, who never moans and just gets on with it,” John Fay, his manager, said. “He proves what can be achieved when you keep believing and never give up. He deserves to be out there.”
Today should witness his graduation. Perhaps nothing sums up Thomson’s resilience as much as fighting through the first two stages of Q School just to get into this final field. More than 1,000 wannabes set out and, after five rounds in Tarragona, Spain, Thomson was in a tie for 14th. We should all root for Jigger.