Woburn Golf Club will host the inaugural G4D Open next week, which will see some of the world’s best players with disabilities compete.
The tournament is being held in partnership with the R&A and the DP World Tour with support from EDGA (formerly the European Disabled Golf Association) and will feature nine sports classes among multiple impairment groups.
The action, which will take place at the Duchess Course, will feature 80 men and women represented by 19 countries. That includes Englishman Kipp Popert, who is currently top of the World Ranking For Golfers With Disability.
Popert, who has a form of cerebral palsy, explained the tournament will be a fantastic opportunity to create a lifelong memory. He said: “It would be a big deal to win the inaugural G4D Open. Only one person is ever going to win the first one and if I put my name on that trophy then that will be incredible. It will be a memory I will treasure forever.”
The 24-year-old also explained that the occasion could be a catalyst for others with disabilities to take up the game. He said: “What The R&A, DP World Tour and EDGA are doing for grassroots golf for people with disability has been brilliant and important, but those getting into the game need something to aspire to and that is what I’m trying to achieve. I hope people watching the G4D Open come away thinking that anyone can play golf. It doesn’t matter what your disability is.”
CEO of The R&A Martin Slumbers also highlighted the importance of the tournament. He said: “We have established The G4D Open to provide a world-class stage for the very best golfers with disabilities to compete against each other and realise their ambitions at an elite level of the sport.
“The World Health Organization states that one in six people has a disability and so we want to show that golf is open to everyone regardless of ability. We are grateful for the guidance offered by EDGA in creating this championship and look forward to working with the DP World Tour to stage the inaugural event at Woburn.”
The tournament, which takes place between 10 and 12 May, will see amateurs and professionals compete in the 54-hole stroke play competition across the sports classes. At the conclusion, there will be an overall winner, an opposite sex winner and a gross prize in each category. Meanwhile, including Popert, 14 of the world's top 20 will compete.
During the week, national federations will also come together to discuss topics relating to the growth and development of the game for the disabled.
Woburn Golf Club has three courses, including the Marquess Course, which hosted the AIG Women’s Open in 2019 and the Dukes Course. Each of the courses is among the best in Buckinghamshire with the Duchess Course ranked at 93 in Golf Monthly's Top 100 Golf Courses in the UK & Ireland 2023/24.
