Brandon beats odds to become champion
A youngster whose parents were warned he might never walk normally has defied doctors by becoming a junior golf champion.
Since discarding his orthopaedic support boots, Brandon Craggs has grown into a confident, sports-mad 11-year-old, despite suffering from mild cerebral palsy which affects his spine and his ability to walk.
Now the youngster, who also has hearing problems in both ears as a result of his condition, has just won the Wolverhampton Schools Championship at Penn Golf Club.
The achievement is special for any child but for his proud parents, Michael and Helen, it is "unbelievable".
Helen, aged 43, said: "We were told by the doctors that if he did walk he would be too clumsy to play sport. For him to go from that to this is just wonderful."
Brandon has not looked back since taking his first golf lesson at the age of seven at the Three Hammers Golf Club in Coven where he is now a member. Now he plays every Saturday and Sunday with his 50-year-old father, who gave up his membership of Oxley Golf Club in order to spend more time playing with his talented son.
The pair also play on weekdays in the summer after Brandon returns home to Bettany Glade, in Moseley Parklands, from Northicote School. The keen Wolves fan also plays left-back for Cheslyn Hay Under-12s football team. Helen said he continued to receive invaluable support from the ear, nose and throat department at New Cross Hospital, the Gem Centre and the Jennie Lee Professional Centre, all in Wednesfield.
"He now walks completely normally – you wouldn't be able to tell there was anything wrong with him. It took a lot of physiotherapy and daily exercises in his younger days but it has paid off.
"He has weak ankles and he was 16 months before he could bear any weight on them, with aid of the orthopaedic boots. "Now he is totally dedicated to golf. Even when he has a bad round, he wants to try again. During the half-term he played three rounds straight after each other.
"We would never have imagined he could become so good."
Mick Woodhouse, junior organiser at Penn Golf Club, said Brandon's winning net score of 58 was one any adult player would be proud of.
"Brandon is a delightful lad and a very good player. He was exhausted when he finished the competition as the Penn course is a tough one, so 58 was an outstanding score to get."
