MORE THAN A GAME

Stewart was blown up on patrol in Afghanistan; Monique was dubbed “the next Chris Evert” but in a wheelchair at 14; pizza guy Lucas took eight gun shots in his back from robbers for some loose change; and a new-born Ales wasn’t judged alive and put in a hospital waste basket.

All these people are thriving today and share one thing in common: they love golf and the ‘tough love’ it offers them in return. These men and women play together on an international golf tour set up by the European Disabled Golf Association (EDGA), an international not-for-profit organisation. They call themselves ‘Golfers First’ because they refuse to be defined by their disability.

There is Aussie Mike Rolls, who was battered by meningococcal septicaemia when 18 – he’s now a published author and near-scratch golfer with two prosthetic lower legs and missing fingers; Jes Høgh, a powerful Danish international footballer who played for Chelsea and Fenerbahce, suffered a severe stroke and battled back using golf in his rehab; and Shlomo, another gunshot victim who’s enjoying life despite being in a wheelchair.

Frenchman Pierjean Friston was training to be a fighter pilot when he lost his leg after a bike smash; he fought back to become a famous TV anchorman. Geoff