A horrendous injury to his left leg, which led to it being amputated, may have cut short Mike Browne’s distinguished career with the Royal Regiment of Artillery in the British Army, but that did not stop him from wanting to enrich his life as a sportsman.
He would turn to golf post 2011 and within three years progressed from being a 28 handicapper into the professional ranks.
On Saturday Browne scored an emotional victory in the G4D Tour Season Finale at the DP World Tour Championship, a title that his late dad had wanted him to have.
“I lost my dad last year. It was just before this tournament, actually,” Browne said. ‘And he always said, this is the one that you want. So today to pick up the win was pretty cool.
He was definitely there with me today.”
Browne shot a one-under-par 71 to finish ahead of World Number One Kipp Popert for a three-stroke victory at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
Inaugural G4D Open winner Brendan Lawlor and Canada’s Kurtis Barkley finished in a tie for second place.
Browne won his maiden G4D title in Ireland last year and made a touching appearance at the winner’s circle at the Earth course.
“That was a pretty special day,” he said. “The course was playing amazing.
“That one was for my dad.”
Browne began with a bogey but cancelled it with a birdie at the par five second, before picking up another birdieing at the long seventh.
More success at the 11th and 12th saw him pull four shots before he closed with a double bogey.
Browne said he felt privileged to play alongside the world’s best golfers with a disability at iconic venues like JGE.
“You can’t put it into words,” he said, “You are sharing the course with the greats of modern times so I feel very privileged and lucky to get this chance.
“Yes, it’s crazy actually you know, it’s nice because they involve us and they know our first names, they always say hello and make us one of the team and it’s pretty special to be to be involved in that,” Browne added.
“Thank you to everyone who has got me to this point.”
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The DP World Tour event was the eighth and final tournament of an expanded second season of the G4D Tour.
Fellow Englishman Popert, who won four times this season, mixed two birdies with four bogeys to finish at two over, while Lawlor and Barkley made closing birdies to both card a two over par 74.