G4D Open: Brendan Lawlor leads Kipp Popert by one shot ahead of final day at Woburn | Golf News

Brendan Lawlor leads by one shot heading into the final round of the inaugural G4D Open at Woburn after carding a second-round 74 to finish the day ahead of Kipp Popert; Italian Tommaso Perrino and Juan Postigo Arce from Spain are the closest challengers to the leading pair

Brendan Lawlor and Kipp Popert look set for a final-day showdown at the inaugural G4D Open at Woburn.

The two leading players in the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD) are separated by just a single stroke going into the final 18 holes over the renowned Duchess Course.

Ireland’s Lawlor, the world No 2, missed chances with his putter in a two-over-par second round of 74 yet still signed for an impressive level-par total of 144.

World No 1 Popert, 24, dropped three shots in his first four holes but, like his opening round, the Englishman recovered on the back nine to post a three-over 75 and trail by a shot on 145 for 36 holes.

Kipp Popert in action at The G4D Open

“I hit it so good again today,” said Lawlor. “I hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens. I had a few silly three-putts and a lot of putts from inside five feet I missed. So probably looking back on my round I could be five shots better. That’s just golf. All you can do is play yourself in contention for tomorrow (Friday) and hopefully they will drop then.

“I didn’t really look at the leaderboard but Kipp’s one behind so you never know it could turn into a match play situation pretty easily.”

Popert, who was born with a form of Cerebral Palsy called Spastic Diplegia, has won five times on the G4D Tour in 2022/23 and will chase another notable victory on Friday.

Lawlor, 26, who has played in a number of DP World Tour events, has a rare condition called Ellis-van Creveld syndrome, characterised by a shorter stature and shorter limbs, and continues to impress at the Bedfordshire venue.

After an improved weather day following thunderstorms during day one, Italian Tommaso Perrino and Juan Postigo Arce from Spain, the world No 4, are the closest challengers to the leading pair on six over par. Perrino has signed for two rounds of 75, with Postigo dropping back after his 79 which featured two double-bogeys.

Rasmus Lia from Sweden and Ireland’s Conor Stone are next on the international leaderboard at eight over. Players from 10 countries or territories are represented in the top 10 after the second round.

While Lawlor and Popert are both professionals, this week has seen a field of 80 male and female amateur and professional golfers competing across sport classes which cover various categories in Standing, Intellectual, Visual and Sitting.

The championship, held in partnership between The R&A and the DP World Tour and supported by EDGA (formerly the European Disabled Golf Association), is one of the most inclusive ever staged, featuring nine sport classes across multiple impairment groups, with players represented from 17 countries.

An overall winner will be determined at the end of the three rounds on Friday, along with an opposite sex winner and a gross prize in each category.

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