I broke my back aged 21 and in the prime of my life. As I recovered in the ward having had steel and titanium drilled into my vertebrae, I looked around the hospital in New Zealand where I had the accident, to realise how lucky I had been. Over 70% of the patients would never walk again, and some had no movement from the neck down.

As a keen sportsman, to have all that taken away by an injury would have been devastating. I continue to enjoy a variety of sports and the friendship they bring thanks to my luck and marvellous surgeons in both NZ and in Yorkshire. Check the 2nd picture for what they drilled into my spine, and later removed!

So, with the privilege of being the 2024 Ponce de Leon host Captain, I invite my fellow team GB players and our USA rivals to kindly donate, so that others may be fortunate to recover from traumatic spinal injuries, and enjoy all sports and golf in particular.

Spinal Research is the UK’s leading charity funding medical research around the world to develop effective treatments for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury - cure the injury and dramatically reduce the need for the long term injury management and care needs.