From 10% survival chance to facing world's best at G4D Open

Breaking news from the world of sport: From 10% survival odds to taking on world's best at G4D Open Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Richie Willis is on familiar territory this week, having been a member at Celtic Manor for 25 years ByGareth VincentBBC Sport WalesPublished13 May 2026Richie Willis was given only a 10% chance of surviving after he was involved in a lorry accident on the old Severn Bridge. Twenty-seven years since looking down to see his leg torn off and his arm seriously damaged, Welshman Willis will strike the first tee shot in golf's G4D Open on Friday. The G4D Open is one of the premier events for golfers with disabilities and will feature many of the world's finest players.

For Willis, 68, simply being in the field is remarkable given the trauma he has faced. Willis was on the road home to Wales when, on 22 December, 1999, what was later deemed a freak gust of wind sent the articulated lorry he was driving on to its side and into the central reservation. "I remember it all like it was yesterday," Willis tells Sport Wales.

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"After the impact I was on my back looking up thinking 'I've got away with this'. Then I lifted my head up and my leg was completely gone. "I remember they were saying I was losing blood pressure.

They realised there was more wrong with me than just my leg and my arm. "Willis' "worst injury", it turned out, was a lacerated liver. "I didn't realise they had me on the table and they had 40 pints of blood to keep me going," he says.

"They came to me afterwards and said they had given me a 10% chance . They said 'obviously you wanted to live and that's why you are still here'. "Willis, who was 42 at the time of his accident, spent five months in hospital.

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Yet barely a year after he was allowed home, he was back holding a golf club. Willis, from Ringland, Newport, had originally taken up the sport at the age of 35, having retired from a semi-professional football career which included a stint at Newport County AFC during their spell playing over the border in Moreton-in-Marsh. Willis' golf handicap was 11 before his accident.

Remarkably, he now plays off six. "I am really proud of that," he says with a smile. "Golf has meant everything to me.

I said if I ever got injured and I couldn't play sport, I wouldn't really want to be here. "Golf means I have been able to compete, playing sport with friends and keeping fit to a degree. It's great for my wellbeing as well.

The story has climbed to the top of the sports agenda, with fans and analysts following closely.