MITCHELL MANN must have thought his British Open hopes were toast when his car packed up on the way to Cheltenham.
The Brummy cueist chose to make the short drive from the West Midlands on the morning of his 10am match with Gao Yang on Wednesday.
But a flat tyre saw him miss the start of the showdown.
It was only due to a lift from a greenkeeper at his local golf club that Mann got there at all.
A second greenkeeper pal waited with the RAC on the side of the road while Mann was whisked off.
The 33-year-old rocked up to The Centaur at Cheltenham Racecourse 10 minutes past the planned start time.
So he was automatically docked a frame, forcing him to fight back from one down in a first-to-four contest.
The odds of an unlikely comeback looked even longer when Yang took the second frame, leaving him halfway to round two.
Mann clearly needed a minute to warm up after tearing his hair out on the hard shoulder, and he promptly levelled up the match at 2-2.
Yang was on the cusp of victory after taking the next frame, but Mann then clinched the last two to see out a remarkable 4-3 triumph.
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The world No.91 has never previously been beyond the first round of the British Open, and this run guarantees him a payout of at least £6,000.
Although he’s now motoring along in Cheltenham, it was only four years ago when Mann discussed a drug habit that almost derailed his career.
He told The Metro: “It was cocaine, really. I’ve never been into weed or anything, I’ve never been interested in it. But the cocaine was heavily used two or three years ago.
“Obviously, the mental health issues as well, but I’m proud and happy to come out the other end of the tunnel.
“Cleaning myself up and being a much better person off the table as well as on it.
“I was just no good to myself, no good to my family, it’s just horrible. I feel like I let so many people down, including myself. I nearly lost my career from it, really.”
