Ireland’s Brendan Lawlor edged out England’s Kipp Popert to win the inaugural G4D Open at Woburn.
The two leading players in the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability fought out a three-day battle over the Duchess Course before Lawlor’s final round of 75 gave him a winning total of three over par, two clear of Popert.
The 26-year-old’s victory means he will replace Popert at the top of the world rankings.
Brendan Lawlor writes his name in the history books, to become the first G4D Open Champion 🏆 pic.twitter.com/mUDiQF1kkJ
— The R&A (@RandA) May 12, 2023
Lawlor, who recently highlighted the abuse he had received on social media after competing in a DP World Tour event, said: “It’s just an unbelievable feeling. It hasn’t really sunk in yet.
“I’ve put so much hard work into my game the last few months and it’s been trending really well. I just couldn’t get it over the line last year, so it’s been a while since I’ve been in the winner’s circle.
“I’m proud of myself just to get it done, really happy. I didn’t hit it well all day but I made a lot of clutch putts on the front nine.
“It’s been an incredible week. The volunteers, The R&A, DP World Tour, EDGA, everybody involved has put in so much work to get this championship done.
“Every player here, we felt like royalty this week. Hopefully this is the start and we’re going to have many more of these major events. Disability golf is definitely on the way up.”
Popert, who held a two-shot lead at one stage during the final round before making costly bogeys on the 13th and 15th, said: “It was great fun.
“This is the first-ever G4D Open and to be in contention I played really well. Brendan deserves it and I couldn’t be happier for him. Basically it was just one of those days where Brendan beat me. I’m still very happy.”
A field of 80 male and female players competed at Woburn across sport classes which cover various categories in Standing, Intellectual, Visual and Sitting.
American Kim Moore, who won the US Adaptive Open at Pinehurst last year, was the leading female player, finishing four shots ahead of Ireland’s Fiona Gray.
“It’s an honour to be the leading female. It was definitely my goal coming in,” said Moore. “Although I didn’t play the greatest this whole week, I played good enough. Sometimes in golf that’s what it takes. Fiona played very well and we were battling back and forth.
“The more awareness we have with these championships, the more participation we are going to get. I have no doubt that it’s going to bring more players, more participants, more people into the game – and hopefully more females.”
A gross prize was also awarded in each category with the winners as follows:
- Intellectual 1: Felix Norrman, Sweden
- Intellectual 2: Casper Holst-Christensen, Denmark
- Standing 1: Kipp Popert, England
- Standing 2: Juan Postigo Arce, Spain
- Standing 3: Brendan Lawlor, Ireland
- Sitting 1: Terry Kirby, England
- Sitting 2: Graham Freeman, Belgium
- Visual 1: Stefano Palmieri, Italy
- Visual 2: Joseph McCarron, USA
The men’s and women’s gross winners also receive invitations to play in the G4D Tour at the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo at The Belfry next month.
Highlights from the championship will be aired on Sky Sports Golf on Tuesday 16 May, at 5pm and 10pm.
The inaugural G4D Open trophy represents the inclusive nature of the championship. This year’s winner will engage with a design team on a permanent trophy to reflect the multiple threads woven among the players on their journeys to compete in The G4D Open.
Woburn continued its rich history of hosting amateur and professional championships with Final Qualifying for The Open from 2014 to 2017 and most recently the AIG Women’s Open in 2019, both played on the Marquess Course.
https://youtu.be/mz7choWrsJc
