The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Survivor’s emotional tee-off with Scotland’s number one
An Oban man who spent 38 days in intensive care battling coronavirus stepped up to the tee yesterday morning as thousands of golfers returned to fairways across the north and north-east.
James Scott was joined at Glencruitten Golf Club in Oban by Scotland’s number one golfer, Robert MacIntyre, to play the first balls since golf clubs were shut down two months ago.
Mr Scott, a project manager at Glensanda Quarry, endured a stay in hospital in Oban before being transferred to the critical care unit at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
The 63-year-old was told upon waking from his induced coma that his mother, 84-year-old Jessie, had sadly died after also contracting Covid-19.
Mr Scott has now vowed to raise £15,000 towards a special infection control room at Lorn and Islands Hospital in Oban as his way of saying thanks to those who saved his life.
Mr Scott said: “Everyone is saying to me that I am the miracle man.
“I don’t feel like the miracle man but I do feel like a lucky man.
“Being able to come up here today and hit a ball; I didn’t think I would ever be able to do that again.”
Ahead of yesterday’s tee-off, Mr Scott had been practising his golf swing in his back garden before returning to the club where he has been a member for eight years.
Mr Scott said he broke down in tears when asked to hit the first shot alongside local talent MacIntyre.
“I felt absolutely honoured and so humbled,” he said.
World number 67 MacIntyre, who lives right beside the golf course, said standing with Mr Scott yesterday was something he “had to do”.
He said: “It’s great. To see a survivor of this disease is bigger than golf.”
MacIntyre is hopeful the reopening of golf courses can provide a welcome boost to people across Scotland, but urged golfers to take caution.
“This is still a serious danger to everyone,” he said.
Donations to Mr Scott’s fundraising cause can be made at justgiving.com/ crowdfunding/jessiejames-scott