Golf lessons help drive away demons

He was only 12 when he and his family narrowly escaped the tsunami that devastated South East Asia in 2004.

In the months that followed, William Johnson suffered harrowing flashbacks of the horrific scenes he was faced with on holiday.

His school work began to suffer but on returning to Great Wyrley Performing Arts High School, William signed up to a golf day and fell in love with the sport. Now, four-and-a-half years after the horror, William, has bounced back and made his debut as a professional golfer.

William, now 17 and originally from Wolverhampton, had been on holiday on the island of Phuket with his father Andy, mother Helen and sister Amie, now 23, when their hotel in the resort of Patong was hit by the tidal wave that left tens of thousands dead.

The family, now from Watling Street, Cannock, escaped with their lives and returned back to their home in Four Ashes on New Year's Day 2005.

"When we got back from Phuket William had to be off school for a few weeks because of what happened over there of what we saw," Mr Johnson said.

"It was just surreal. We were really worried that he would not recover from the trauma. He started going into himself and his school work started to suffer."

The turning point came when William reluctantly signed up to a golf day.

"When he got back he told us he'd had a great time and loved it," Mr Johnson added.

William made his pro debut in the Jamega Pro Golf Tour on Monday and yesterday at Witney Lakes, Oxfordshire. And he's looking forward to making his mark in the sport.