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The G4D Open
Lawlor leads Popert by the slimmest of margins at Woburn
11 May 23
3 mins
Brendan Lawlor and Kipp Popert look set for a final-day showdown at the inaugural G4D Open at Woburn.
The two leading players on the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD) are separated by just a single stroke going into the final 18 holes over the renowned Duchess Course. Ireland’s Lawlor, the world number two, missed chances with his putter in a two-over-par second round of 74 yet still signed for an impressive level-par total of 144. World number one Popert, 24, dropped three shots in his first four holes but, like his opening round, the Englishman recovered on the back nine to post a three-over 75 and trail by a shot on 145 for 36 holes.
Kipp Popert - England 🏴
"Yeah, all I need to do is be around the lead. I've won from behind before and I've won from ahead before. I like competing and that's why I'm here."
Missed chances
Popert, who was born with a form of Cerebral Palsy called Spastic Diplegia, has won five times on the G4D Tour in 2022/23 and will chase another notable victory tomorrow. Lawlor, 26, who has played in a number of DP World Tour events, has a rare condition called Ellis–van Creveld syndrome, characterised by a shorter stature and shorter limbs, and continues to impress at the Bedfordshire venue. “I hit it so good again today,” said Lawlor. “I hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens. I had a few silly three-putts and a lot of putts from inside five feet I missed. So probably looking back on my round I could be five shots better. That's just golf. All you can do is play yourself in contention for tomorrow and hopefully they will drop then. “I didn't really look at the leaderboard but Kipp's one behind so, you never know it could turn into a match play situation pretty easily tomorrow.” Popert added, “I feel I scored well. It was a grind. I got up-and-down. I played in the trees a lot, chipped out a lot. So yeah, to come off there with three-over, I’m still in it. All I needed to do was to be around the lead. I've won from behind before and I've won from ahead before. I like competing and that's why I'm here.”Opportunity
On an improved weather day after thunderstorms during day one, Italian Tommaso Perrino and Juan Postigo Arce from Spain, the world number four, are the closest challengers to the leading pair on six-over-par. Perrino has signed for two rounds of 75, with Postigo dropping back after his 79 which featured two double bogeys. “The Duchess I like so much because it is a course that is good for me, especially my driver,” said Perrino. “I’ve missed one driver in four days and it is a course that if you place the driver it is not too much difficult. “I broke my leg in an accident in 2001. But in 2019 I came to the EDGA family and started again to play. It was an unbelievable opportunity to do what I want to do before the accident and I enjoy enough my life now.” Arce, who was born without a leg, said, “I really didn't felt great. I started pretty well playing the first few holes but then I didn't know how to manage my swing all the day and was not able to score very well. I know I can score low. I know they can also score high so I hope to have a chance tomorrow.”
Brendan Lawlor - Ireland 🇮🇪
"I'm just going to go out with the same game plan, hit fairways, greens, and then hopefully some more putts will drop tomorrow and I can lift the trophy."
Sport classes
Rasmus Lia from Sweden and Ireland’s Conor Stone are next on the international leaderboard at eight-over. Players from ten countries or territories are represented in the top ten after the second round. While Lawlor and Popert are both professionals, this week has seen a field of 80 male and female amateur and pro golfers competing across sport classes which cover various categories in Standing, Intellectual, Visual and Sitting. The championship, held in partnership between The R&A and the DP World Tour and supported by EDGA (formerly the European Disabled Golf Association), is one of the most inclusive ever staged, featuring nine sport classes across multiple impairment groups, with players represented from 17 countries.An overall winner will be determined at the end of the three rounds on Friday, along with an opposite sex winner and a gross prize in each category. Ireland’s Fiona Gray and American Kim Moore are vying for the female category honours.
Spectators are welcome to attend The G4D Open free of charge.