Sky Sports has a great “My Special Day” series on their network. This week, they featured 18 year old Thomas Brock. Thomas started learning and playing golf at the age of 13, but by age 15, he had a single digit handicap and was a part of the winning team at the 2010 Scottish Junior Championships with his Liberton GC teammates.
However, by the summer of 2011, his girlfriend noticed a persistent lump on his foot. This lump turned out to be a cancerous tumour, which gave Thomas one of the biggest decisions of his life. He could either go through chemotherapy, with the chance of the cancer returning, or have his leg amputated. He chose amputation.
He had his amputation on a Monday, but by the Saturday of the same week, he was back on the golf course and even shot a 73… on one leg! It took three months before Thomas was fitted with a Prosthetic leg, but as he told My Special Day: “There is always someone more worse off than yourself in life at the end of the day.”
My Special Day and Sky Sports heard Thomas’ story from his parents and set up a meeting with Paul Lawrie at the Paul Lawrie golf centre in Aberdeen. Paul and his coach, Andrew Locke, give Thomas a tour of the facility, a lesson and also a great surprise! We can all agree with Paul, as he told My Special Day: “Thomas was absolutely brilliant especially with what he’s gone through and an inspiration to us all who meet him today. It’s hugely impressive to play off the handicap he does after all he has been through and his ball-striking and attitude was different class.”
Source: Sky Sports, YouTube
