FRESH from his maiden triumph on the Challenge Tour, golfer Ben Stow explains how his injury torment has enabled him to enjoy a new perspective while on the golf course.

Over a year ago, the 26-year-old was out walking when he tripped an as innocuous as it may seem, Stow had managed to rupture the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

The injury forced Stow to have an operation, in turn that caused him to side-lined for a year in which he spent four months without holding a club.

His return to form by his own admission was slow, as he struggled to get back in the groove of life on the Challenge Tour circuit.

However, results began to slowly pick up to the point where Stow claimed his first win when he finished 18 under-par at the Prague Golf Challenge in the Czech Republic earlier this month.

Speaking to the Wiltshire Times, the 26-year-old says his injury trouble helped him appreciate his job as a professional golfer more than ever, thus allowing him to enjoy the game again and he thinks that is the secret to his recent success.

“I played horribly at the start of the season and I tried not to be too hard on myself because I knew I’d been away from it for such a long time,” he said.

“I tried to not be too hard on myself so if someone told me I was going to win an event in the first 11 events of the year then I would have been surprised.

“I feel the injury has really made me appreciate my job. Even when I’m not playing well, I have a nice mental approach where I know it could be a lot worse.

“It’s great. I feel very relaxed about golf and I’m quite accepting of what is going to happen because you can’t control what is going to happen in golf, it’s not a science.”

“You’re playing a ball game in a massive field so anything can happen.”

The win boosted Stow’s European Tour ambitions too, as he is currently 16th in the race to Ras Al Khaimah, with the top 15 being handed their card for next term.

Stow is under no illusions that there is still a lot of golf to be played, but says win has only enhanced his chances for next season.

“I’m poised in the right spot, I just need to play well at the end of the season in the big money events,” he added.

“It doesn’t really add pressure. I’ve been in the same situation before back in 2016 so I think I know how to deal with it.

“I think I am better at dealing with it now. As a player now I know that I can relax for the next couple of tournaments.

“It’s really important to play well in the last four tournaments, playing well in China, where the prize fund is double what it is now, of course is going top be beneficial.”