PINEHURST, NORTH CAROLINA | Two years in, the U.S. Adaptive Open has found its place among the USGA’s national championships.
Kipp Popert, a 25-year-old Englishman born with cerebral palsy, captured the overall men’s championship Wednesday at Pinehurst No. 6 while 25-year-old American Ryanne Jackson, who was diagnosed with scapuloperoneal muscular dystrophy as a college freshman, won the women’s overall competition, holding off defending champion Kim Moore.
“It seems a little weird to think about being a champion, but it’s going to be awesome, seeing my name up there [in the USGA Museum’s Hall of Champions] with some of the greatest of the game,” Jackson said after her victory.
Played in Pinehurst for the second straight year, the event drew a field of 96 players competing in eight different categories. The championship is both inspirational and aspirational.
“I just think this is the greatest thing. Our whole goal is to come out and not for you to look at us as [having] disabilities but as golfers,” Larry Celano said after finishing fourth in the men’s seated competition.
With his victory, Popert continued a strong run after having undergone multiple surgeries to allow him to compete. He won the 2022 Golf for the Disabled (G4D) Tour Betfred British Masters and finished second in the R&A’s inaugural G4D Open this past May before winning in Pinehurst.
With the lead entering the final round, Popert maintained his advantage but threw some drama into the finish, making a double bogey on the final hole, allowing defending champion Simon Lee of South Korea to face a 6-foot putt to force a playoff that he missed.
“I didn't envision winning it with a double [bogey on No. 18], but sometimes you’ve got to win ugly,” Popert said. “It was good out there. I played well today. I’m extremely chuffed to win.”
Jackson, of Seminole, Florida, won the female neurological impairment category in the 2022 U.S. Adaptive Open. A standout basketball player and golfer in high school, Jackson carries a 4.7 handicap index.
Leading by three entering the final day, Jackson stretched her lead to five with birdies on two of the first three holes before a pair of double bogeys slowed her momentum. Moore, chasing a second straight overall title, made a triple bogey on the final hole and finished five strokes back.
“I knew coming in that there were some new people entering the tournament that I hadn't heard of,” Jackson said. “I didn't know what to expect with their games, but I knew Kim Moore was going to be my biggest returning competitor since she was the reigning champ. So being here at the end is a very nice feeling.”
Category winners:
MEN: Conor Stone, Ireland (arm impairment); Evan Mathias, Indianapolis, Indiana (multiple limb amputee); Simon Lee, South Korea (intellectual impairment); Kipp Popert, England (neurological impairment); Max Togisala, South Ogden, Utah (seated players); Kurtis Barkley, Canada (short stature); Mike Browne, England (leg impairment); Kiefer Jones, Canada (vision impairment).
WOMEN: Abigail Davis, Houston, Texas (arm impairment); Cindy Lawrence, Lehigh Acres, Florida (multiple limb amputee); Natasha Stasiuk, Canada (intellectual impairment); Ryanne Jackson, Seminole, Florida (neurological impairment); Ann Hayes, Lee, Massachusetts (seated players); Kim Moore, Battle Creek, Michigan (leg impairment); Amanda Cunha, Kaneohe, Hawaii (vision impairment).
The 2024 U.S. Adaptive Open will be played at Sand Creek Station in Newton, Kansas.
MEN’S RESULTS / WOMEN’S RESULTS
Ron Green Jr.