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Field Set for 3rd U.S. Adaptive Open at Sand Creek Station

NULL : June 26, 2024

USGA MWGA MNPGA Adaptive Golf

Field Set for 3rd U.S. Adaptive Open at Sand Creek Station

LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. (June 26, 2024) - The field for the 3rd U.S. Adaptive Open - a national championship that showcases the world's best golfers with disabilities at Sand Creek Station in Newton, Kan., from July 8-10 - has been set, the USGA announced today.

The USGA received 278 entries for the 2024 U.S. Adaptive Open, and for the first time, 18-hole qualifiers were conducted by Allied Golf Associations (AGAs) at six sites across the country. The 96-player field includes competitors from 32 states and 11 countries. The championship's youngest competitor is 15-year-old Ryder Barr of Celina, Texas, and Bruce Hooper, of San Antonio, Texas, is the championship's oldest player at 78 years old. Of the 96 players in the field, 66 previously played in one or both of the past two iterations of the USGA's newest championship. Thirty will be making their championship debut.

“We were inspired by the level of interest and support that we received from the golf community during the past two U.S. Adaptive Opens,” said John Bodenhamer, chief championships officer for the USGA. “We are thrilled to go to Sand Creek Station to celebrate and witness the passion of these athletes who have earned their opportunity to compete for a national championship.”

The low overall female scorer and low overall male scorer from each qualifying site earned a spot in the championship. The remaining qualifying spots were determined by Impairment Category and gender across all six qualifying sites using an adjusted Score Differential. In total, 64 players earned their place in the field through qualifying. Another 24 were fully exempt, and eight were added to the field as committee selections.

Ryanne Jackson, 26, of St. Petersburg, Fla., and Kipp Popert, 25, of England, both return to this year's championship to defend their titles. Jackson, who was diagnosed with scapuloperoneal muscular dystrophy as a college freshman, held off defending champion Kim Moore to win the overall women's division in 2023 at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club's Course No. 6. Popert, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth, posted a 54-hole total of 214 to win the overall men's division by a stroke.

Max Togisala, 20, of South Odgen, Utah, was paralyzed in a ski accident in February 2022. While he was a golfer prior to his accident, he had to relearn the game from a seated position. Togisala shot a 2-under-par 70 in the second round of last year's championship, which bettered by nine strokes the lowest round by a seated player in championship history. He won the seated player impairment category to earn his spot in this year's U.S. Adaptive Open. 14 players earned their place in the field through winning their Impairment Category last year.

“Playing in last year's U.S. Adaptive Open was an absolute thrill and I'm excited to be in this year's field,” said Togisala. “I'm looking forward to making more memories with the most inspiring people in the world. My game is feeling sharp and I'm looking forward to competing again.”

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:

Upper Limb Impairment
Intellectual Impairment
Lower Limb 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 are permitted for all players and caddies. The 96-player field is as follows:

Russell Aide, of Canada, 17, Upper Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Garth Allen, of Australia, 48, Lower Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Jamie Allen, of Kimball, Michigan, 41, Lower Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Carter Arey, of Columbia, Mo., 34, Lower Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Kurtis Barkley, of Canada, 36, Short Stature, Exempt
Ryder Barr, of Celina, Texas, 15, Upper Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Andrew Berglund, Stillwater, Minnesota, 24, Intellectual Impairment, Qualifier
Vince Biser, of Baltimore, Md., 36, Neurological Impairment, Committee Selection
Bailey Bish, of Tucson, Arizona, 24, Neurological Impairment, Exempt
Joakim Bjorkman, of Sweden, 33, Short Stature, Commitee Selection
Amy Bockerstette, of Phoenix, Arizona, 25, Intellectual Impairment, Qualifier
Jack Bonifant, of Kensington, Maryland, 34, Neurological Impairment, Qualifier
Kenny Bontz, of Parrish, Florida, 54, Lower Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Erik Bowen, of Charlotte, North Carolina, 44, Multiple Limb Amputee, Qualifier
Albert Bowker, of Buellton, California, 27, Short Stature, Qualifier
Dustin Boydell, of Canada, 37, Neurological Impairment, Qualifier
Ryan Brenden, of Pierce, Nebraska, 48, Lower Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Austin Brown, of Richland, Washington, 27, Lower Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Mike Browne, of England, 46, Lower Limb Impairment, Exempt
Brandon Canesi, of Northfield, N.J., 32, Multiple Limb Amputee, Qualifier
Luke Carroll, of Old Hickory, Tennessee, 19, Neurological Impairment, Qualifier
Tyler Cashman, of Oldwick, N.J., 21, Vision Impairment, Qualifier
Larry Celano, of Chandler, Arizona, 55, Seated Players, Qualifier
Wellman Kody Conover, of Las Vegas, Nevada, 29, Intellectual Impairment, Qualifier
Amanda Cunha, of Kaneohe, Hawaii, 20, Vision Impairment, Exempt
Ryan Cutter, of Helena, Mont., 33, Multiple Limb Amputee, Committee Selection
Abigail Davis, of Houston, Texas, 22, Upper Limb Impairment, Exempt
David de Garavilla, of Telford, Pennsylvania, 41, Lower Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Mario Dino, of Denver, Colorado, 21, Neurological Impairment, Qualifier
Thomas Duffy, of Utica, Illinois, 25, Seated Players, Qualifier
Kyle Erickson, of Minneapolis, Minn., 41, Lower Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Jesse Florkowski, of Canada, 34, Upper Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Alex Fourie, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 31, Upper Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Anton Glass, of Bonita Springs, Florida, 28, Lower Limb Impairment, Exempt
Ken Green, of Danbury, Conn., 65, Lower Limb Impairment, Committee Selection
Harley Hartle, of Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, 26, Upper Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Ann Hayes, of Lee, Massachusetts, 61, Seated Players, Exempt
Tim Herrmann, of Cologne, Minnesota, 33, Lower Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Kirk Holmberg, of Hutchinson, Kansas, 56, Neurological Impairment, Qualifier
Bruce Hooper, of San Antonio, Texas, 78, Vision Impairment, Qualifier
Sophia Howard, of Hudsonville, Michigan, 17, Upper Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Ryanne Jackson, of Seminole, Florida, 26, Neurological Impairment, Exempt
William Jacobsen, of Auburn, Ala., 20, Intellectual Impairment, Qualifier
Andrew Johnson, of Whitmire, South Carolina, 24, Intellectual Impairment, Qualifier
Kiefer Jones, of Canada, 34, Vision Impairment, Exempt
Zdenka Kitagawa, of Alpharetta, Georgia, 61, Upper Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Nick Kimmel, of Fallbrook, Calif., 34, Multiple Limb Amputee, Committee Selection
Kelsey Koch, of Grand Blanc, Michigan, 32, Lower Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Brendan Lawlor, of Republic of Ireland, 32, Short Stature, Exempt
Sarah Larson, of Cato, Wisc., 45, Upper Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Nancy Lee, of New York, N.Y., 57, Lower Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Simon Lee, of Korea, 27, Intellectual Impairment, Exempt
Rasmus Lia, of Sweden, 23, Lower Limb Impairment, Exempt
Michael Madsen, of Meridian, Idaho, 43, Lower Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Ford Martin, of Nashville, Tennessee, 31, Neurological Impairment, Qualifier
Evan Mathias, of Indianapolis, Indiana, 28, Multiple Limb Amputee, Exempt
Ryan Matthews, of Anderson, Ind., 38, Upper Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Paul McCormack, of Republic of Ireland, 55, Vision Impairment, Qualifier
James Moceri, of Rochester Hills, Michigan, 35, Seated Players, Qualifier
Kim Moore, of Battle Creek, Michigan, 43, Lower Limb Impairment, Exempt
Michael Nicholson, of Tampa, Fla., 35, Seated Players, Committee Selection
Issa Nlareb, of Cameroon, 33, Multiple Limb Amputee, Committee Selection
Matthew Olsen, of Canby, Ore., 46, Upper Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Jake Olson, of Huntington Beach, Calif., 27, Vision Impairment, Commitee Selection
Chris Oviatt, of Milwaukie, Oregon, 60, Neurological Impairment, Qualifier
Wayne Perske, of Australia, 50, Lower Limb Impairment, Exempt
Chad Pfeifer, of Nampa, Idaho, 42, Lower Limb Impairment, Exempt
Kipp Popert, of England, 26, Neurological Impairment, Exempt
Juan Postigo, of Spain, 28, Lower Limb Impairment, Exempt
Ricky Reilly, of Syracuse, N.Y., 23, Short Stature, Qualifier
Stacey Rice, of Suwanee, Ga., 61, Lower Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Sam Roberts, of Lincoln, Nebraska, 18, Upper Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Brandon Rowland, of Jackson, Tennessee, 43, Multiple Limb Amputee, Qualifier
Mandi Sedlak, of Kearney, Nebraska, 34, Lower Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Cassandra Sengul, of Manassas, Virginia, 18, Neurological impairment, Qualifier
Randy Shack, of Sulphur Springs, Texas, 39, Seated Players, Qualifier
Matt Simon, of Orange, Calif., 31, Neurological Impairment, Qualifier
Deborah Smith, of Rockford, Ill., 62, Lower Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Natasha Stasiuk, of Canada, 26, Intellectual Impairment, Exempt
Jordan Thomas, of Nashville, Tennessee, 35, Multiple Limb Amputee, Qualifier
Max Togisala, of South Ogden, Utah, 20, Seated Players, Exempt
Tessa Trojan, of Canada, 35, Intellectual Impairment, Qualifier
Mariano Tubio, of Argentina, 44, Seated Players, Qualifier
Rueben Valdez, of Birmingham, Alabama, 34, Lower Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Kellie Valentine, of McKean, Pennsylvania, 53, Upper Limb Impairment, Qualifier
James Van Noord, of Troy, Michigan, 31, Neurological Impairment, Qualifier
Rose Veldman, of North Hollywood, California, 24, Multiple Limb Amputee, Qualifier
Eli Villanueva, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, 57, Upper Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Cathy Walch, of Buford, Ga., 58, Upper Limb Impairment, Qualifier |
Robert Walden, of Mesa, Arizona, 52, Upper Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Dennis Walters, of Jupiter, Florida, 74, Seated Players, Qualifier
Joshua Williams, of Canada, 39, Lower Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Chris Willis, of Canada, 43, Upper Limb Impairment, Exempt
Lachlan Wood, of Australia, 33, Lower Limb Impairment, Exempt
Hayato Yoshida, of Japan, 40, Lower Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Peyton Zins, of Indianapolis, Ind., 22, Neurological Impairment, Qualifier

This year's championship will administer a cut for the first time, with the cut being made by low score (top 20 for men, top 10 for women), plus low two and ties from each impairment category after two rounds. Additional information on the U.S. Adaptive Open can be found here.