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.
About the USGA
The USGA is a mission-based golf organization whose purpose is to unify the golf community through handicapping and grassroots programs; to showcase the game’s best talent through the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally and 13 other national championships and our museum; to provide unbiased global governance with The R&A through the playing, equipment and Amateur Status rules; and to advance issues important to golf’s future, with a focus on driving sustainability, accessibility and inclusion. As a nonprofit association, our work and our team are driven to act for the good of the game. For more, visit usga.org.
11 countries and 32 states will be represented in Newton, Kansas, with an age range from 15 to 78
