LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. (May 23, 2023) – The field for the 2nd U.S. Adaptive Open – a national championship that showcases the world’s best golfers with disabilities on Pinehurst Resort & Country Club’s Course No. 6 from July 10-12 – has been set, the USGA announced today.

The USGA received 285 entries for the 2023 U.S. Adaptive Open, and the 96-player final field includes competitors from 28 states and 11 countries. The championship’s youngest competitor is 15-year-old Russell Aide from Canada, and Linda Port, of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., is the championship's oldest player at 75 years old. Of the 96 players in the field, 66 played last year, and 30 will be making their championship debut. 

“We were inspired by the level of interest and support that we received from the golf community for last year’s Inaugural U.S. Adaptive Open,” said John Bodenhamer, chief championships officer for the USGA. “We are thrilled to return to Pinehurst to celebrate and witness the passion of these athletes who are seeking the opportunity to compete for a national championship.” 

A player’s Handicap Index® was the primary factor in determining the field, with the USGA reserving at least five male player spots and two female player spots per impairment category.  

Kim Moore, 42, of Battle Creek, Mich., and Simon Lee, 25, of the Republic of Korea, both return to this year's U.S. Adaptive Open to defend their titles. Moore, who was born without a right foot and a slight case of spina bifida, went wire-to-wire last July to win the overall women's division. She has served as the head golf coach for the Western Michigan University women's golf team since 2020. Lee was diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum at a young age and, last year, earned the overall men's division victory after defeating Felix Norrman of Sweden in a playoff. He will compete in the intellectual impairment category. 

Kipp Popert, 24, of England, who was diagnosed with a form of cerebral palsy called Spastic diplegia, is currently the No.1 golfer in the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD) and will be competing in his second U.S. Adaptive Open in the neurological impairment category. Last year he finished fourth overall in the men's division and won the neurological impairment category to earn his spot in this year's U.S. Adaptive Open. 

“Competing in the inaugural U.S. Adaptive Open was an absolute thrill and I’m honored to be in this year’s field,” said Popert. “I’ve been lucky enough to play in several top-tier championships and the USGA hosts this event with the same attention to detail as they do the U.S. Amateur. I’m excited for everyone to experience that. This event is only going to grow and we’re going to have kids looking up to us one day.”

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: 

• Arm Impairment 
• Intellectual Impairment 
• Leg 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 will be permitted for all players and caddies. The 96-player field is as follows: 

Russell Aide, of Canada, 15, Arm Impairment 
Trevor Arnone, of Lewiston, Idaho, 35, Short Stature 
Kurtis Barkley, of Canada, 35, Short Stature 
Brian Bemis, of Lansing, Mich., 49, Leg Impairment 
Adam Benza, of Hellertown, Pa., 36, Leg Impairment 
Chris Biggins, of Leeds, Ala., 31, Neurological Impairment 
Vince Biser, of Baltimore, Md., 35, Neurological Impairment 
Bailey Bish, of Tucson, Ariz., 23, Neurological Impairment 
Jeremy Bittner, of Moon Township, Pa., 34, Leg Impairment 
Joakim Bjorkman, of Sweden, 32, Short Stature 
Wayne Blankenship, of Leslie, Mo., 52, Leg Impairment 
Amy Bockerstette, of Phoenix, Ariz., 24, Intellectual Impairment 
Jack Bonifant, of Kensington, Md., 33, Neurological Impairment 
Kenny Bontz, of Parrish, Fla., 53, Leg Impairment 
Erik Bowen, of Oakland, Calif., 43, Multiple Limb Amputee 
Albert Bowker, of Buellton, Calif., 26, Short Stature 
Grace Anne Braxton, of Fredericksburg, Va., 51, Intellectual Impairment 
Ryan Brenden, of Pierce, Neb., 47, Leg Impairment 
Austin Brown, of Richland, Wash., 26, Leg Impairment 
Mike Browne, of England, 45, Leg Impairment 
Brandon Canesi, of Doral, Fla., 31, Multiple Limb Amputee 
Luke Carroll, of Old Hickory, Tenn., 17, Neurological Impairment 
Larry Celano, of Chandler, Ariz., 54, Seated Players 
Wellman Kody Conover, of Las Vegas, Nev., 28, Intellectual Impairment 
Charles Crose, of Spring Hill, Fla., 25, Intellectual Impairment 
Amanda Cunha, of Kaneohe, Hawaii, 19, Vision Impairment 
Abigail Davis, of Houston, Texas, 21, Arm Impairment 
Mario Dino, of Denver, Colo., 20, Neurological Impairment 
Xander Dobreff, of Parrish, Fla., 34, Arm Impairment 
Thomas Duffy, of Utica, Ill., 24, Seated Players 
Conor Ennis, of Wake Forest, N.C., 32, Short Stature 
Jesse Florkowski, of Canada, 33, Arm Impairment 
Alex Fourie, of Hoover, Ala., 30, Arm Impairment 
Billy Fryar, of Bigelow, Ark., 51, Seated Players 
Jarrett Fultz, of Queen Creek, Ariz., 22, Neurological Impairment 
Anton Glass, of Fort Myers, Fla., 27, Leg Impairment 
Ken Green, of West Palm Beach, Fla., 64, Leg Impairment 
Aidan Grenham, of Republic of Ireland, 25, Leg Impairment 
Ann Hayes, of Lee, Mass., 60, Seated Players 
Luke Hiser, of Denver, Colo., 28, Multiple Limb Amputee 
Greg Hollingsworth, of Peck, Kansas, 54, Leg Impairment 
Sophia Howard, of Hudsonville, Mich., 16, Arm Impairment 
Ryanne Jackson, of Seminole, Fla., 25, Neurological Impairment 
William Jacobsen, of Dadeville, Ala., 19, Intellectual Impairment 
Lucas Jones, Louisville, Ky., 28, Leg Impairment 
Kiefer Jones, of Canada, 33, Vision Impairment 
Fumie Katakura, of Japan, 52, Arm Impairment 
Mi Kyong Kim, of Republic of Korea, 56, Leg Impairment 
Kelsey Koch, of Grand Blanc, Mich., 30, Leg Impairment 
Masato Koyamada, of Japan, 55, Arm Impairment 
Brendan Lawlor, of Republic of Ireland, 26, Short Stature 
Cynthia Lawrence, of Lehigh Acres, Fla., 60, Multiple Limb Amputee 
Nancy Lee, of New York, N.Y., 55, Leg Impairment 
Simon Lee, of Republic of Korea, 25, Intellectual Impairment 
Yangwoo Lee, of Republic of Korea, 24, Intellectual Impairment 
Rasmus Lia, of Sweden, 22, Leg Impairment 
Robert MacDermott, of Canada, 67, Multiple Limb Amputee 
Michael Madsen, of Meridian, Idaho, 42, Leg Impairment 
Tommy Marks, of Danville, Pa., 43, Vision Impairment 
Evan Mathias, of Indianapolis, Ind., 27, Multiple Limb Amputee 
Joseph McCarron, of Orange Beach, Ala., 60, Vision Impairment 
Justin Miller, of Gilbert, Ariz., 37, Seated Players 
Kim Moore, of Battle Creek, Mich., 42, Leg Impairment 
Jake Olson, of Huntington Beach, Calif., 26, Vision Impairment 
Chris Oviatt, of Milwaukie, Ore., 59, Neurological Impairment 
Wooshik Park, of Republic of Korea, 64, Leg Impairment| 
William Pease, of Saint Augustine, Fla., 59, Vision Impairment 
Chad Pfeifer, of Nampa, Idaho, 41, Leg Impairment 
Jeremy Poincenot, of Carlsbad, Calif., 33, Vision Impairment 
Kipp Popert, of England, 24, Neurological Impairment 
Linda Port, of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., 75, Vision Impairment 
Krystian Pushka, of Canada, 32, Intellectual Impairment 
Brandon Rowland, of Jackson, Tenn., 42, Multiple Limb Amputee 
Blake Ryan, of Hebron, Ky., 46, Leg Impairment 
Mandi Sedlak, of Kearney, Neb., 43, Leg Impairment 
Douglas Shirakura, of Somers, N.Y., 20, Leg Impairment 
Rasmus Skov Lot, of Denmark, 21, Arm Impairment 
Bradley Smith, of England, 28, Leg Impairment 
Natasha Stasiuk, of Canada, 24, Intellectual Impairment 
Conor Stone, of Republic of Ireland, 28, Arm Impairment 
Joshua Tankersley, of Fort Worth, Texas, 36, Leg Impairment 
Jordan Thomas, of Nashville, Tenn., 34, Multiple Limb Amputee 
Max Togisala, of South Ogden, Utah, 19, Seated Players 
Tessa Trojan, of Canada, 34, Intellectual Impairment 
Mariano Tubio, of Argentina, 43, Seated Players 
Kellie Valentine, of McKean, Pa., 52, Arm Impairment 
Parker Vancampen, of McPherson, Kansas, 18, Leg Impairment 
Eliseo Villanueva, of Fayetteville, N.C., 56, Arm Impairment 
Adem Wahbi, of Belgium, 24, Neurological Impairment 
Cathy Walch, of Buford, Ga., 57, Arm Impairment 
Robert Walden, Mesa, Ariz., 51, Arm Impairment 
Dennis Walters, Jupiter, Fla., 73, Seated Players 
David Watts, of South Africa, 35, Leg Impairment 
Chris Willis, of Canada, 42, Arm Impairment 
Hayato Yoshida, of Japan, 39, Leg Impairment 
Peyton Zins, Indianapolis, Ind., 21, Neurological Impairment 
 
Additional information on the U.S. Adaptive Open can be found here. 

About the USGA  
The USGA is a nonprofit organization that celebrates, serves and advances the game of golf. Founded in 1894, we conduct many of golf’s premier professional and amateur championships, including the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open. With The R&A, we govern the sport via a global set of playing, equipment, handicapping and amateur status rules. The USGA campus in Liberty Corner, New Jersey, is home to the Association’s Research and Test Center, where science and innovation are fueling a healthy and sustainable game for the future. The campus is also home to the USGA Golf Museum, where we honor the game by curating the world’s most comprehensive archive of golf artifacts. To learn more, visit usga.org.