The world’s leading golfers with a disability are back at Woburn this week for the return of The G4D Open. Here are your five things to know.
The numbers behind golf’s most inclusive championship
Established in 2023, The G4D Open is into its third edition and will again feature 80 competitors from 20 countries - up by one on last year. Contested over three days from Thursday to Saturday and across 54 holes of gross stroke play, the championship is held in partnership between The R&A and the DP World Tour and supported by EDGA. Men and women, amateur and professional, from nine sport classes across multiple disabilities will tee it up. Among those are 18 women, an increase of seven on last year. In a sign of how inclusive and accessible golf is, the age range of players goes from the youngest in Denmark's 18-year-old Frederik Brokfelt-Christiansen to the oldest in 79-year-old Carol Grinnell of England. For the third edition, Woburn's Duchess Course will again serve as the host venue, with accurate driving and pinpoint iron play the order of the day. Kipp Popert and Brendan Lawlor - the two past champions - are among 12 of the world’s top 20 players competing at Woburn.
2024 champions return as Popert makes title defence after surgery
In mid-January after undergoing foot surgery, the participation of defending champion Popert was in doubt. But four months later, after detailing his recovery on social media, the Englishman tees it up again for the first time in a competitive environment*. It was only last week that he was able to return to hitting shots on the course, using just a seven or four iron off the tee. Since the launch of the G4D Tour in 2022, he has been the dominant force, winning 13 titles. Of those, four came last season, including at The G4D Open where he held off the then defending champion and long-time rival Brendan Lawlor to claim victory by one shot. Despite his injury absence, the 26-year-old, who has a form of cerebral palsy, has retained his status as the leading player on the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability. Daphne van Houten is the leading female golfer teeing it up, with the Dutch player ranked 25th in the world as she bids to go back-to-back after being crowned the women’s champion last year.
*Popert pulled out of this year's championship through injury ahead of Thursday's opening round.
A fair competition for all
The tournament will once again use sport classes, which have been developed to move the game of golf closer to the requirements of the International Paralympic Committee. All of the 80 qualifying players (via the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability) have a designated Sport Class and will not only compete in the overall male and female championships but also in their respective classes. At the end of the championship there will be individual and sport class champions alongside the overall leading male and female winners. Two of these classes will be seated players who typically, but not always, use a powered chair such as a ‘paragolfer’ to lift them up into the correct position to swing the club. Two more classes will relate to intellectual impairments, while there are three different standing classes and two dedicated to golfers with a visual impairment. The sport classes were created by EDGA after research and collaboration with leading sport, medical and rehabilitation experts from around the world. Eligibility and Training Lead for EDGA, Mark Smith said: “It comes down to fairness for players, which is essential in any successful sporting format. The nine classes were created to give all golfers with a disability the opportunity to play in events in which they can compete on a level playing field.”
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The G4D Tour schedule resumes
After a six-month wait since the season-opening ISPS HANDA All Abilities Australian Championship, the fourth season of the G4D Tour picks up again this week. It is the second of five confirmed events in the 2025 schedule, with more events to be finalised. The calendar features a mix of gross and net events that ensure golfers across a wider spectrum of disabilities can compete for glory. The next scheduled event will come at The Belfry in August during the week of the Betfred British Masters, before the return of another ever-present on the rota in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. There will also be a new event held in conjunction with the FedEx Open de France at Golf de Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche.
Expanding G4D awareness and participation
As with previous editions, The G4D Open is more than just about matters on the course. With an array of coaching and education experts along with representatives from national golf federations present, a series of workshops and demonstration events will help highlight how golf can continue to reach new people. Among the many planned activities throughout the week will be a demonstration by Koalaa around how golfers with arthritis may be boosted by a new golf gripping tool. Children with special educational needs and disability from a number of local schools will be present at Woburn thanks to Hertfordshire County Council, the DP World Tour and young people’s charity the Golf Foundation, which is supported by The R&A, as a fun School Games Festival is arranged. Canadian G4D player Chris Willis will also provide a presentation on what the game means to him and how it can enhance people’s lives. EDGA is also running a training session for 12 PGA Professional Coaches who wish to learn the key coaching considerations to better coach any person with an impairment.
