World's best head to Woburn for second G4D Open
The world's top five golfers with disabilities will tee it up at Woburn this week for the second staging of The G4D Open.
Ireland's world number two Brendan Lawlor won last year's inaugural title by two shots from England's Kipp Popert, who tops the rankings, and both are expected to challenge again this week.
The three-day 54-hole tournament starts on Wednesday, 15 May and will feature 80 men and women, aged 15-68, playing in nine sport classes across multiple impairment groups.
An overall champion will be crowned, as well as an opposite sex winner, with a gross prize in each of the sport classes which cover various categories in standing, intellectual, visual and sitting.
"It's an incredible opportunity to see some of the best players in the world doing abnormal things,” said Lawlor, who has a rare condition called Ellis-van Creveld syndrome that is characterised by a shorter stature and shorter limbs.
Australia's Wayne Perske, who played in the 2006 Open Championship before struggling with a back injury, makes his debut, having won the inaugural Scottish Open for Golfers with a Disability on Friday.
"After being told by surgeons that I would not play golf ever again, I feel very fortunate to be able to compete on the G4D Tour and in All Abilities events in Australia," he said.
"All Abilities golf has reignited my passion not only for the game but for my life.”
England's Martine and Heather Gilks will make history as the first mother and daughter duo to play in the event. Martine has osteoarthritis in all of her joints while Heather’s cerebral palsy affects her legs and her left side.
Daphne van Houten is the leading female golfer, with the Dutch player ranked 25th in the world.
The G4D Open is one of nine events on the G4D Tour, which was launched in 2022 and is operated by the DP World Tour. The other tournaments are held in the same week and on the same course as DP World Tour events.
Popert, who was born with a form of cerebral palsy called spastic diplegia, is a nine-time winner on the G4D Tour.
This G4D Open is held in partnership between the DP World Tour and the R&A and is supported by EDGA, formerly the European Disabled Golf Association.
