Brendan Lawlor is chasing a second men’s G4D Open title after opening up a two-shot lead on day one at Woburn, with Jennifer Sräga ahead in the women’s event.
Lawlor endured an up-and-down round on a cold, overcast day over the Duchess Course to sign for a level-par 72 in the men’s championship.
The Irishman, who has a rare condition called Ellis–van Creveld syndrome, characterised by a shorter stature and shorter limbs, holed from 25 feet on the 1st for one of five birdies but also carded five bogeys.
With Kipp Popert, the defending champion and leading player on the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD), forced to withdraw after foot surgery earlier this year, Lawlor is in command as he aims to emulate his success at the inaugural G4D Open in 2023.
Lawlor, 28, is ahead by two strokes from Lachlan Wood from Australia and Danish debutant Frederik Brokfelt-Christiansen, the youngest player in the field, after their two-over-par rounds of 74.
“I feel I’m playing the best golf I’ve kind of played in a long time, especially on the greens. My ball-striking is pretty good enough when I get to tournaments but the greens let me down usually. If I can keep the way I’m putting up for the next two days, hopefully I can go back out and win the trophy.
“The weather looks good for the next two days but it could blow. I want to finish the event under par. Probably one or two-over wouldn’t be too far away either.”
Wood, 34, who tied fourth last year, continues to impress after multiple surgeries on his left leg after a car accident aged 16. Brokfelt-Christiansen, 18, who has scoliosis of the spine, has burst into the top-50 of the WR4GD after a string of good finishes in his early EDGA tournaments. Frenchman Thomas Colombel and Thomas Blizzard from England sit tied fourth on three-over 75.
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