Golf: Persistence paid off for Donaldson

ABU DHABI: Jamie Donaldson will make his Masters debut in April, but had he heeded the words of his doctor, he would have been retired from golf several years ago due to chronic back pain.

Speaking on Sunday after securing the biggest win of his career at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, the 37-year-old Welshman recalled the moment in 2004 when he thought his career might be over. Fearing his back might ‘go again’ just by stepping off a curb, Donaldson sought specialist advice and he did not like what he heard.

“One (specialist) said don’t play. So soon we went to see someone else,” he explained. “I was in the wilderness for four years after that injury. I didn’t really know where I was at. It was just a case of starting again and finding out what works.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 22^nd, 2013.