Opening Golf to the World
The G4D Open
The G4D Open: Five things you should know
12 May 26
5 mins
The G4D Open returns for its fourth edition this week as the leading golfers with a disability come together to compete on the world stage at Celtic Manor Resort.
Here are your five things to know.A new venue
As part of a new three-year agreement, The G4D Open is being staged at the renowned Celtic Manor Resort for the first time this week after three years at Woburn Golf Club. In preparation for hosting, the Roman Road course, designed by Robert Trent Jones, has undergone a rigorous assessment and enhancement programme to ensure it meets the highest standards of accessibility.
Celtic Manor Resort will host The G4D Open for the next three years.
The Roman Road staged three editions of the Wales Open on the DP World Tour from 2005-2007 while the Twenty Ten Course was being built for the Ryder Cup. It also played host to the Wales Senior Open in 2015 and 2016.
The format
The Championship, staged in partnership with The R&A and the DP World Tour and supported by EDGA, is one of the most inclusive ever held. Contested over three days from Thursday to Saturday and across 54 holes of gross stroke play, the tournament features nine sport classes across multiple impairment groups which cover categories in Standing, Intellectual, Visual and Sitting.
Competitors will play across nine different sport classes.
In a first for the tournament, there will be a cut to the leading 20 overall men and ties and top ten overall women and ties. In addition, the top three men in each Sport Class (if applicable) and top two women in each Sport Class (if applicable) will also qualify for the third and final round.
As in previous years, at the end of the Championship there will be nine individual, world-leading Sport Class champions alongside the overall leading male and female winners.
Inside the field
As with previous editions since its inaugural staging in 2023, a field of 80 male and female amateur and professional golfers are in action. In a sign of how inclusive and accessible golf is, the age range of players goes from the youngest in Sweden's 16-year-old Ville Engqvist to Japan's 70-year-old Shigeru Kobayashi as the oldest participant. Among those are 19 players making their debut, including Richie Willis, a member at Celtic Manor for 25 years, who has played an estimated 3,000 rounds on the Roman Road lay-out.
Richie Willis will hit the first tee shot of the 2026 G4D Open.
Willis, 68, whose life dramatically changed after he needed an above-the-knee right leg amputation following a road traffic accident in 1999, will have the honour of striking the first tee shot. He is one of two Welsh players in the field along with Dylan Baines.
Lucy Leatham, another first-time player, is among the 14 women in the field, having become aware of the Championship since last year's edition after a life-changing car accident in late 2023 saw her lose her right arm.
There are 25 nationalities represented, with players from across four continents featuring.
2025 champions return
Ireland’s Brendan Lawlor and Daphne van Houten from the Netherlands are the respective defending men’s and women’s champions. Lawlor, who won the inaugural staging of the Championship in 2023, again lifted the men’s trophy after a one-over-par final round of 73 for a 54-hole total of three over and a four-stroke win over Lachlan Wood from Australia.
Players will compete for The G4D Open trophy.
The 29-year-old, who has a rare condition called Ellis–van Creveld syndrome, made history in 2020 by becoming the first golfer with a disability to compete on the DP World Tour and is fourth on the Gross World Ranking for Golfers with Disability.
Van Houten enjoyed her own piece of G4D Open history as she defended the women’s title she won in 2024 thanks to an 11-stroke victory over Germany’s Jennifer Sräga.
Born with scoliosis and since faced with other health battles, the 27-year-old is the top-ranked player in the Gross World Rankings.
More than just a championship
Away from the on-course action, a range of demonstration and education activities are taking place to underline how inclusive and accessible golf can be for everyone. In a packed schedule of interactive sessions hosted by The R&A, the DP World Tour and EDGA, delegates from across the golf, health and sport industry, including national golf federations, are meeting to learn more about the G4D landscape.Meanwhile, outside of the clubhouse, people of all ages from schools, charity and community groups are being encouraged to try golf either as a very first go or to rediscover the game following illness or injury.
These include local school children with special educational needs and disability, welcomed thanks to Wales Golf and the Golf Foundation, and golfers supported by UK charity the Golf Trust will demonstrate progress to inspire golfers across the disability spectrum, supported by The R&A.