I struggled with anxiety initially. I couldn’t see the ball for tears

The scale of his achievements in the past year say much about the power of positive thinking.

As he prepares to head south with his eyes on the prize won by Ireland’s Brendan Lawlor last year, he does so as a scratch golfer — a standard he could only aspire to before his accident.

‘I’ve played a lot of golf since I was a kid, though I went away for a few years after my accident,’ he said. ‘But I’ve had a new lease of life and I’m back enjoying it.

‘Now that I’ve got my prosthetic, I can put some weight on the right side and swing normal. I shortened my back swing and got new, stronger clubs because I lost some distance when I first came out the operation. I also do a lot of band work, strengthening the core.’

This week’s tournament is one of the most inclusive ever staged, featuring nine sport classes across multiple impairment groups, with 80 male and female players representing 19 countries. For a man who became accustomed to the feel of a big tournament in his time as a bagman to Senior Tour stalwarts like Steen Tinning and Roger Chapman, a return to this stage will certainly not faze him.

‘I loved it,’ he reflected of his days as a caddie. ‘I was regularly over in America at US Senior Opens and US Senior PGAs. I feel at home on the big stage and the G4D Open is another one to look forward to.

‘Being a caddie has given me lots of experience and the bigger the occasion the better. I loved the G4D Open last year and can’t wait to get back to Woburn.’ • The G4D Open takes place at Woburn from May 15-17.