The 2024 G4D Tour season comes to a close at next week’s G4D Tour Series Finale @ DP World Tour Championship, with Kipp Popert looking to end his memorable season in style.
The season-closing event will be played over 36 holes at Jumeirah Golf Estates, with round one being played on Monday November 11 and the final round on the Earth Course on Wednesday November 13, where two champions will be crowned – one gross winner, and one net winner.
Watch: Golf Saudi partner with Kipp Popert, the World Number One golfer with a disability
Golf Saudi Ambassador Popert, who sits atop the World Ranking For Golfers with Disability (WR4GD), has enjoyed another stand-out year on the G4D Tour, winning three individual titles alongside the G4D Nations Cup, in which he triumphed with compatriot Heather Gilks.
The World Number One’s first victory of the season arrived at the G4D Tour @ Magical Kenya Open, before adding the G4D Open title to his collection after a thrilling battle with Irishman Brendan Lawlor, who will also tee it up in Dubai next week.
The 26-year-old, who suffers from Cerebral Palsy, then triumphed alongside Gilks at The Belfry to claim the G4D Tour’s inaugural team title, before completing a hat-trick of victories at the prestigious BMW PGA Championship, winning the G4D Tour title for the third year in a row.
Popert will have his eyes firmly set on winning the gross prize at Jumeirah Golf Estates next week, while Australian Steven Alderson will be eyeing back-to-back net victories following his emotional triumph at the G4D Tour @ Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters last month.
"Growing up as a kid and being bullied all the time at school and even bullied at other golf clubs, it just means the world to win here."
An emotional Steven Alderson looks back at a life-changing week in Andalucia. This is what it's all about. 🧡#G4DTour | #EDAM2024 pic.twitter.com/KWcqJ6tYq7
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 15, 2024
He was left fighting back tears as he recalled years of bullying due to his autism after claiming a brilliant nine-stroke victory at Real Club de Golf Sotogrande to become the first autistic winner in G4D Tour history.
The 44-year-old is one of three players who will fight it out for the net title, joining above knee amputees Robin Singh, the winner of the G4D Tour @ Ras Al Khaimah Championship, and Mike Wraight, who makes his G4D Tour debut as the Number One in the Net WR4GD.
Seven players will contend for the gross crown, with Popert and Lawlor being joined by CJ CUP Byron Nelson winner Mike Browne, of England, Australia’s Lachlan Wood who claimed the season-opening All Abilities Australia Championship, and G4D Open – Female winner Daphne van Houten, of the Netherlands. They will be joined by Canadian Kurtis Barkley and Australia’s Wayne Perske, who both qualified via the WR4GD.
The G4D Tour was launched in 2022 as a partnership between the DP World Tour and EDGA, formally the European Disabled Golf Association. The G4D player pathway aims to cater for everyone with a disability who wants to play golf, and for many, the G4D Tour is seen as the pinnacle of competition with competitors playing on the same course, in the same week, as the leading Tour professionals on the DP World Tour.
Due to the European Tour group’s ongoing financial support, EDGA has been able to raise awareness, confirm eligibility, organise tournaments, and deliver golf development and coach education worldwide.
Main Image: Golf Saudi
