Back to back wins for Brad

Brad Smith has achieved back-to-back English Open for Golfers with a Disability titles.

The Royal Cromer golfer shot level-par on the opening day at the Prince Bishop’s course in Durham and, despite a tough day two, it was enough to edge his nearest competitor, Benji Heaton, into second place.

Brad said: “It’s awesome. I wasn’t too pleased with how I played on the final day but overall I’m very happy to bring the trophy back home for another year!”

When his opponent went ahead, Brad kept his cool.

“I just told myself to stay patient and I got angry a few times, but I let that go quickly and moved on to the next shot to refocus,” he said.

Already a talented player, Brad lost his leg eight years ago after developing an aggressive form of bone cancer.

But with the help of his twin brother Mitch and dad Steve, he was determined to complete his rehabilitation and make up for lost time on the course.

He now laughs at his early efforts at the driving range, but he soon got back into the swing of the game, partly thanks to a ground-breaking prosthetic leg which was a game-changer.

“The movement is so much better. There’s no pain. I feel the ground underneath me because it’s connected to the actual skeleton,” he said.

Brad was also due to head to America this month to take part in the US
Adaptive Championship.

But first, he said: “I’ll probably meet up with a few friends in the coming days and have some fun!”

And he added that he would be back next year to try to make it a hat-trick.