Kipp Popert and Steven Alderson enjoyed the perfect climax to their seasons as they won their respective events at the inaugural G4D Tour Series Finale in Dubai, while Brendan Lawlor had to settle for fourth.
The two-day season-ending tournament at Jumeirah Golf Estates’ Earth course featured a gross event and a net event as part of a revamp to reinforce the G4D Tour’s status as the most inclusive Tour in golf.
Popert, the top-ranked golfer on the gross World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD), entered the final round with a one-shot lead over Lachlan Wood but he carded a closing five-under 67 to finish at nine under for a five-shot victory.
It is his 13th G4D Tour title, fifth of the year – four of those coming as an individual – and the first of his career in Dubai.
“I’m chuffed,” he said. “I haven’t won this one yet. So, it was one I was really wanting and knew I was playing well coming in.
“I think my focus is when I get a lead, to be honest, I just like winning. But I also want to showcase how good we are and shoot the lowest score I can.”
A front-nine 32 saw Popert seize control of proceedings, before three birdies in a five-hole stretch from the 11th to the 15th saw him cruise to the title despite a bogey-bogey finish.
Lawlor, having opened with a level-par 72, played his opening nine in -1, but had fallen seven shots behind as Popert came roaring from the traps. The Dundalk man would pick up another on the 10th, but a bogey on the 11th and a double on 14 ended all hopes of an unlikely victory, before he ended his week on a high by birdieing the final hole and finishing in solo fourth on the same score at which he’d started.
Australian pair Wood and Wayne Perske finished second and third in the gross competition, which featured seven players.
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