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The G4D Open
Lawlor and Popert set for final round showdown at Woburn
16 May 24
3 mins
Brendan Lawlor and Kipp Popert are again set for a showdown at Woburn as the world’s two leading golfers with a disability target success at The G4D Open.
Trailing by three shots overnight, defending champion Lawlor, 27, impressed in damper second round conditions to post a second successive 71 and a two-under-par total of 142. The Irishman, who has a rare condition called Ellis–van Creveld syndrome, leads by a stroke after England’s Popert, 25, battled to a three-over 75 for 143 helped by a closing birdie. Lawlor edged out Popert, who has cerebral palsy, by two shots to win last year’s inaugural Championship and the top two players on the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD) are excited for another duel tomorrow. Popert, the world number one, is aiming for a tenth G4D Tour triumph while Lawlor is looking to defend a title for the first time.Exciting day ahead
“You have to stay out of trouble here and I’ve done that pretty well,” said Lawlor. “I’ve never defended before. That's going to be really exciting for me to try to go out and do it. If Kipp goes out and shoots six-under there's nothing I can do. But I want to go out and shoot an under-par round tomorrow and see where it leaves me. “It's going to be exciting. Kipp’s a really good golfer. His game's on a really good level, but my game is also on a really good level. He's number one at the moment. I want to try to take that off him eventually. He's too far ahead but I think whoever can go out and win this event, it's true who the real number one player is. So let's see what happens.” Popert is also relishing the final day and said, “I honestly played extremely solid and I was extremely patient. I've got a few goals in my notebook that I've written down this week and I did those extremely well. I'm excited for tomorrow as I know I'm playing well. I didn't get frustrated today, I trusted myself. “Myself and Brendan get on well. His family in America took me to a Texas-like lunch. It was really nice to spend time with him away from golf. I think it will be nice to play with the leader in the final group. I’ll just stick to my game plan and we'll have a nice battle.”Chasing pack
Canadian Chris Willis is in third spot on four-over 148 with 18-year-old Englishman Thomas Blizzard a shot further back. Lachlan Wood from Australia and another home player, Mike Browne, are on six-over. Daphne van Houten is the leading women’s player in a share of 24th place. Willis added, “I played well today. I putted quite well which saved me a few strokes and I hit some really good short game shots which gave me a couple of birdie looks on the par-5s. “I rolled in a couple of other birdie putts and made some par-saving putts, so it was a putting day today. I hope I can fly the flag again for Canada tomorrow. Everything feels very good. I hope I can put a special number up there tomorrow and put some pressure on the big boys.” Established last year, the Championship – held in partnership between The R&A and the DP World Tour and supported by EDGA (formally the European Disabled Golf Association) – is one of the most inclusive ever staged.Sport classes
The G4D Open features nine sport classes across multiple impairment groups, with 80 men and women players of both amateur and professional status representing 19 countries. Contested over three days until tomorrow across 54 holes of gross stroke play, there is a men’s and women’s champion and a gross prize in each of the sport classes for men and women which cover various categories in Standing, Intellectual, Visual and Sitting. Earlier on day two, a revolutionary prosthetic arm, the first of its kind globally, was trialled by primary-aged children at a special coaching session at Woburn. UK-based Koalaa is collaborating with EDGA, a non-profit organisation committed to making golf accessible to all, to develop a unique tool that enhances the ability of players with upper limb differences to effectively use a golf club. While the development process is still in its early stages, the session at Woburn followed months of research and testing and was the first time that younger players have been invited to test out the prototype device.
Kipp Popert - England
"I know I'm playing well. I think that was quite nice out there. I didn't get frustrated. I trusted myself. And yeah, I'm very excited for tomorrow. Just stick to my game plan and we'll have a nice battle."