Ryder Cup contender Yannik Paul makes remarkable recovery to tee up in British Masters

Yannik Paul in action during day one of the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo 2023 at The Belfry. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images.

Yannik Paul is hoping his Ryder Cup bid is on course again after making an incredible recovery from the back problem that forced him to suffer the disappointment of sitting out last week’s BMW International Open on home soil in Germany.

Paul, who currently sits in one of the six automatic spots for Luke Donald’s team, reckoned his chances of playing in this week’s Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo were less than 30 per cent when he arrived at The Belfry on Tuesday.

But, helped by some intensive treatment, he not only made it to the tee for the opening round but carded a four-under-par 68 to sit in a tie for third, three shots behind leader Justin Rose.

“I obviously wanted to play last week at my home event, so I was really disappointed and sad that I couldn’t,” said Paul of being forced into withdrawing at Golfclub München Eichenried shortly before his scheduled first-round tee time. “I got a lot of treatment and it got a tiny bit better.

“Then I flew here on Tuesday morning thinking that I maybe had 20-30 per cent chance that I could tee it up, but I got some good treatment and my physio is here this week and it got better the last couple of days. Now, with some medication and some treatment, it was do-able.

“It’s not 100 per cent but sometimes when the expectations aren’t so high and you are just happy to be somewhere, you just deal with stuff a bit better.”

On the back of a great run of form, which had included a breakthrough DP World Tour win in the Mallorca Golf Open towards the end of last year, Paul had set to be the star attraction in Munich before being struck by his untimely injury.

“It was the lower back and probably resulted from a load of travel. I felt it when I arrived in Munich, then it got better on Tuesday and Wednesday, when I played in the pro-am,” he added.

“Then, when I woke up on Thursday, I was literally walking like an old man and I could barely stand up. I couldn’t really sit or stand. I didn’t know what to expect or how long it would take to clear up, so I am just happy to be able to play again so quickly.

“I had all kinds of scans last week just to see if something major was wrong but the doctor said that wasn’t the case. He said that once a back muscle gets tight, all the other muscle groups also get tight and it takes a while to ease off.

“But I feel I am on a good path again. It’s definitely getting better and now, with a day and a half to recover from this round, it will be even better tomorrow afternoon.”

The one positive to come out of last week for Paul was that he held on to his automatic spot despite the ultra-consistent Adrian Meronk chalking up his latst top-ten finish in the Ryder Cup qualifying battle.

“I don’t really check the rankings too much,” insisted Paul. “There are still a lot of tournaments left. Adrian has had a great season so I think, no matter what, he will probably be part of the team. I think he definitely deserves it. I just focus on myself and then see where we end up.”