Courtesy of USGA/Jeff Haynes
You’ve never seen anything like Wednesday at the US Open Conditioning Championships.
On second thought, you probably have.
When Kip Poppert, a 25-year-old British professional with cerebral palsy, walked down the 18th lane at Pinehurst No. 6, there was a sense of inevitability surrounding his victory. In the second ever National Open Championship for disabled golfers, the only surprise was that it took Poppert two years to win the event.
“He’s like Tiger Woods of European handicap golf,” said Connor Stone, co-runner-up in the tournament, of Boppert. “He just gets away with trophies.”
Boppert, who finished second in the 54-hole championship, was one of only three players to break par, and even the double bogey at the finish couldn’t derail him.
“Sometimes you have to win with something ugly,” he joked after winning a single shot.
Of course, most of Boppert’s play was, in fact, a pretty thing, totaling 12 birds on his cards over the course of three rounds.
Boebert’s mantle quickly runs out of space – unlike a certain 15-time champion – his close wire-to-wire victory at the US Adaptive Championships comes on the heels of his Betfred British Masters Paralympic victory and runner-up to the finish at the inaugural Open R Golf Course & A.
“It was good to keep up,” Stone said of Boppert. “I don’t think he had his best this week, so if he had played better I think he could have won it for a long time.”
Boppert was far from the only winner in three sweltering days at Pinehurst. He joined Ryan Jackson – who suffers from muscular dystrophy – as she won, respectively, the men’s and women’s “Overall” titles. In addition to the two trophies, the USGA also awarded 15 medals to those who finished first in their handicap class.
There are 96 competitors in total in the U.S. Adaptation, men and women, playing under eight classes of handicap. Those in the event play with a modified set of USGA rules in order to accommodate their weakness; Rules that provide expanded freedoms to the wheels and floors of the clubs, among other golf idiosyncrasies. Otherwise, the tournament is like any other golf competition, where every stroke and every foul counts.
Participants in the event deal with a wide range of disabilities, from amputees of a leg and arm to those with intellectual and neurological disabilities. But there is a strong sense of community among adapted players in all handicap classes, especially those who travel far and wide to compete in a small but growing number of aggregate tournaments.
“I think the USAF’s involvement in creating the Adaptation Open has really helped other states open up and create adaptive events,” said Jackson, the women’s champion, a point repeated by a number of competitors over the past two years.
The truth is, there is no such event as the Adaptive Open, in both good and bad ways. While the event brings together some of the sport’s most exciting players and stories, it is also the only tournament in its scope – and barriers to entry remain.
“I can’t keep doing that,” said Stone, the tournament runner-up. “I’m lucky to have one sponsor who helped me, but it’s not enough to cover a whole year, and what the sponsor does is great, but you need five or six sponsors to actually do it for a living.”
The hope is that the USGA’s actions will inspire more action, as it has already done with the R&A. But change is coming slowly. These days, some handicap groups compete in their own events, such as the International Blind Golf Association, while others play most of their golf alongside able-bodied competitors.
“I definitely want young people with visual impairments, regardless of whether they are boys or girls, to know that there are ways to have a lot of fun. [in golf]said Amanda Cunha, the 19-year-old winner of the category for women with visual impairments.
This is true now more than ever. Just three years ago, the adaptive community lived on the fringes of golf. Now it is an excellent part of the sport’s annual calendar. This is not a source of patting on the back, not yet. But it is a source of pride.
“Right now I’m a little emotional,” said Larry Silano, the 54-year-old seated competitor. “I just think that’s the greatest thing. Our whole goal is to get out there and not be seen as being.” [having] But as a golfer.”
A week of golf doesn’t feel like the adaptive US Open, and maybe that’s a good thing.
The best golf stories aren’t seen – they are felt.