The field for the 2nd U.S. Adaptive Open – a national championship that showcases the world’s best golfers with disabilities on Pinehurst Resort & Country Club’s Course No. 6 from July 10-12 – has been set, the USGA announced today.
The USGA received 285 entries for the 2023 U.S. Adaptive Open, and the 96-player final field includes competitors from 28 states and 11 countries. The championship’s youngest competitor is 15-year-old Russell Aide from Canada, and Linda Port, of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., is the championship's oldest player at 75 years old. Of the 96 players in the field, 66 played last year, and 30 will be making their championship debut.
“We were inspired by the level of interest and support that we received from the golf community for last year’s Inaugural U.S. Adaptive Open,” said John Bodenhamer, chief championships officer for the USGA. “We are thrilled to return to Pinehurst to celebrate and witness the passion of these athletes who are seeking the opportunity to compete for a national championship.”
A player’s Handicap Index® was the primary factor in determining the field, with the USGA reserving at least five male player spots and two female player spots per impairment category.
Kim Moore, 42, of Battle Creek, Mich., and Simon Lee, 25, of the Republic of Korea, both return to this year's U.S. Adaptive Open to defend their titles. Moore, who was born without a right foot and a slight case of spina bifida, went wire-to-wire last July to win the overall women's division. She has served as the head golf coach for the Western Michigan University women's golf team since 2020. Lee was diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum at a young age and, last year, earned the overall men's division victory after defeating Felix Norrman of Sweden in a playoff. He will compete in the intellectual impairment category.
Kipp Popert, 24, of England, who was diagnosed with a form of cerebral palsy called Spastic diplegia, is currently the No.1 golfer in the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD) and will be competing in his second U.S. Adaptive Open in the neurological impairment category. Last year he finished fourth overall in the men's division and won the neurological impairment category to earn his spot in this year's U.S. Adaptive Open.
“Competing in the inaugural U.S. Adaptive Open was an absolute thrill and I’m honored to be in this year’s field,” said Popert. “I’ve been lucky enough to play in several top-tier championships and the USGA hosts this event with the same attention to detail as they do the U.S. Amateur. I’m excited for everyone to experience that. This event is only going to grow and we’re going to have kids looking up to us one day.”
The championship is open to both male and female professional and amateur golfers with a World Handicap System™ Handicap Index of 36.4 or less and an eligible impairment confirmed by a WR4GD Pass. The impairment categories are as follows:
- Arm Impairment
- Intellectual Impairment
- Leg Impairment
- Multiple Limb Amputee
- Neurological Impairment
- Seated Players
- Short Stature
- Vision Impairment
The championship will be contested over 54 holes of stroke play. Multiple sets of tees will be utilized. Carts will be permitted for all players and caddies. The 96-player field is as follows:
Russell Aide, of Canada, 15, Arm Impairment
Trevor Arnone, of Lewiston, Idaho, 35, Short Stature
Kurtis Barkley, of Canada, 35, Short Stature
Brian Bemis, of Lansing, Mich., 49, Leg Impairment
Adam Benza, of Hellertown, Pa., 36, Leg Impairment
Chris Biggins, of Leeds, Ala., 31, Neurological Impairment
Vince Biser, of Baltimore, Md., 35, Neurological Impairment
Bailey Bish, of Tucson, Ariz., 23, Neurological Impairment
Jeremy Bittner, of Moon Township, Pa., 34, Leg Impairment
Joakim Bjorkman, of Sweden, 32, Short Stature
Wayne Blankenship, of Leslie, Mo., 52, Leg Impairment
Amy Bockerstette, of Phoenix, Ariz., 24, Intellectual Impairment
Jack Bonifant, of Kensington, Md., 33, Neurological Impairment
Kenny Bontz, of Parrish, Fla., 53, Leg Impairment
Erik Bowen, of Oakland, Calif., 43, Multiple Limb Amputee
Albert Bowker, of Buellton, Calif., 26, Short Stature
Grace Anne Braxton, of Fredericksburg, Va., 51, Intellectual Impairment
Ryan Brenden, of Pierce, Neb., 47, Leg Impairment
Austin Brown, of Richland, Wash., 26, Leg Impairment
Mike Browne, of England, 45, Leg Impairment
Brandon Canesi, of Doral, Fla., 31, Multiple Limb Amputee
Luke Carroll, of Old Hickory, Tenn., 17, Neurological Impairment
Larry Celano, of Chandler, Ariz., 54, Seated Players
Wellman Kody Conover, of Las Vegas, Nev., 28, Intellectual Impairment
Charles Crose, of Spring Hill, Fla., 25, Intellectual Impairment
Amanda Cunha, of Kaneohe, Hawaii, 19, Vision Impairment
Abigail Davis, of Houston, Texas, 21, Arm Impairment
Mario Dino, of Denver, Colo., 20, Neurological Impairment
Xander Dobreff, of Parrish, Fla., 34, Arm Impairment
Thomas Duffy, of Utica, Ill., 24, Seated Players
Conor Ennis, of Wake Forest, N.C., 32, Short Stature
Jesse Florkowski, of Canada, 33, Arm Impairment
Alex Fourie, of Hoover, Ala., 30, Arm Impairment
Billy Fryar, of Bigelow, Ark., 51, Seated Players
Jarrett Fultz, of Queen Creek, Ariz., 22, Neurological Impairment
Anton Glass, of Fort Myers, Fla., 27, Leg Impairment
Ken Green, of West Palm Beach, Fla., 64, Leg Impairment
Aidan Grenham, of Republic of Ireland, 25, Leg Impairment
Ann Hayes, of Lee, Mass., 60, Seated Players
Luke Hiser, of Denver, Colo., 28, Multiple Limb Amputee
Greg Hollingsworth, of Peck, Kansas, 54, Leg Impairment
Sophia Howard, of Hudsonville, Mich., 16, Arm Impairment
Ryanne Jackson, of Seminole, Fla., 25, Neurological Impairment
William Jacobsen, of Dadeville, Ala., 19, Intellectual Impairment
Lucas Jones, Louisville, Ky., 28, Leg Impairment
Kiefer Jones, of Canada, 33, Vision Impairment
Fumie Katakura, of Japan, 52, Arm Impairment
Mi Kyong Kim, of Republic of Korea, 56, Leg Impairment
Kelsey Koch, of Grand Blanc, Mich., 30, Leg Impairment
Masato Koyamada, of Japan, 55, Arm Impairment
Brendan Lawlor, of Republic of Ireland, 26, Short Stature
Cynthia Lawrence, of Lehigh Acres, Fla., 60, Multiple Limb Amputee
Nancy Lee, of New York, N.Y., 55, Leg Impairment
Simon Lee, of Republic of Korea, 25, Intellectual Impairment
Yangwoo Lee, of Republic of Korea, 24, Intellectual Impairment
Rasmus Lia, of Sweden, 22, Leg Impairment
Robert MacDermott, of Canada, 67, Multiple Limb Amputee
Michael Madsen, of Meridian, Idaho, 42, Leg Impairment
Tommy Marks, of Danville, Pa., 43, Vision Impairment
Evan Mathias, of Indianapolis, Ind., 27, Multiple Limb Amputee
Joseph McCarron, of Orange Beach, Ala., 60, Vision Impairment
Justin Miller, of Gilbert, Ariz., 37, Seated Players
Kim Moore, of Battle Creek, Mich., 42, Leg Impairment
Jake Olson, of Huntington Beach, Calif., 26, Vision Impairment
Chris Oviatt, of Milwaukie, Ore., 59, Neurological Impairment
Wooshik Park, of Republic of Korea, 64, Leg Impairment|
William Pease, of Saint Augustine, Fla., 59, Vision Impairment
Chad Pfeifer, of Nampa, Idaho, 41, Leg Impairment
Jeremy Poincenot, of Carlsbad, Calif., 33, Vision Impairment
Kipp Popert, of England, 24, Neurological Impairment
Linda Port, of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., 75, Vision Impairment
Krystian Pushka, of Canada, 32, Intellectual Impairment
Brandon Rowland, of Jackson, Tenn., 42, Multiple Limb Amputee
Blake Ryan, of Hebron, Ky., 46, Leg Impairment
Mandi Sedlak, of Kearney, Neb., 43, Leg Impairment
Douglas Shirakura, of Somers, N.Y., 20, Leg Impairment
Rasmus Skov Lot, of Denmark, 21, Arm Impairment
Bradley Smith, of England, 28, Leg Impairment
Natasha Stasiuk, of Canada, 24, Intellectual Impairment
Conor Stone, of Republic of Ireland, 28, Arm Impairment
Joshua Tankersley, of Fort Worth, Texas, 36, Leg Impairment
Jordan Thomas, of Nashville, Tenn., 34, Multiple Limb Amputee
Max Togisala, of South Ogden, Utah, 19, Seated Players
Tessa Trojan, of Canada, 34, Intellectual Impairment
Mariano Tubio, of Argentina, 43, Seated Players
Kellie Valentine, of McKean, Pa., 52, Arm Impairment
Parker Vancampen, of McPherson, Kansas, 18, Leg Impairment
Eliseo Villanueva, of Fayetteville, N.C., 56, Arm Impairment
Adem Wahbi, of Belgium, 24, Neurological Impairment
Cathy Walch, of Buford, Ga., 57, Arm Impairment
Robert Walden, Mesa, Ariz., 51, Arm Impairment
Dennis Walters, Jupiter, Fla., 73, Seated Players
David Watts, of South Africa, 35, Leg Impairment
Chris Willis, of Canada, 42, Arm Impairment
Hayato Yoshida, of Japan, 39, Leg Impairment
Peyton Zins, Indianapolis, Ind., 21, Neurological Impairment
Additional information on the U.S. Adaptive Open can be found here.
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