When Farnham man Jason Bastable took up the offer of a free eye test advertised on the back of a parking ticket three and a half years ago, little did he know what would follow.

Referred to Frimley Park Hospital, Jason was told he had glaucoma - a degenerative eye condition that causes damage to the eye’s optic nerve and over time can lead to permanent vision loss - and declared unfit to work, blind and disabled.

Being a die hard golfer before his devastating diagnosis, Jason’s immediate thought was that his golfing days were over. Until, that is, he was introduced to Abigail from Sight for Surrey who informed him of The English Blind Golf Association.

England and Wales Blind Golf (or EWBG - as the association is now known) is a registered charity, formed in 1982 with the aim of providing severely sight-impaired people with the opportunity to play golf competitively.

Each year players compete and strive to be selected to represent England in the annual Blind Golf international against Scotland for the Auld Enemies Cup. To qualify, players have to finish in the top nine in the Order of Merit with the EWBG captain choosing four wildcards. This year, Jason was one of the wildcards.

In the series to date the score is England 12 and Scotland 13 with three matches halved. England currently holds the trophy this year, and Jason successfully won both of his matches with the highest amount of points to help towards winning the trophy.

Speaking to the Herald, Jason’s daughter Hannah said her father “has gone from strength to strength” this yea, adding “his family and friends are all very proud”.

She continued: “He has trained hard and has been dedicated to giving up his time to play and have lessons to get himself prepared for all of these competitions. He put all of his trust into his guide Nancy Bilderbeck, whom together have been unstoppable this year and have worked together incredibly.”

This year Jason was awarded Matchplay Champion 2018, Order of Merit Champion 2018 and most importantly the EWBG British Blind Masters Champion 2018.

And as his guide, Nancy’s part in Jason’s success cannot be overstated, playing a vital role giving him as much information as required, describing the terrain, giving the direction and distance as accurately as possible and then lining him up for the desired shot.

Jason is now taking a well needed break from golfing and will be back to training in a few weeks ready for the ISPS Handa Italian Open and ISPS Handa World Blind Golf Championships, both taking place in Rome this September.

To enquire about sponsoring Farnham’s champion blind golfer, email [email protected].