The G4D Tour (Golf for the Disabled Tour) has announced its schedule for 2023, with an expanded schedule consisting of eight tournaments in six countries.
Launching in 2022 with an initial schedule of seven events, the G4D Tour sees top golfers with disabilities compete on the same course, in the same week, as the DP World Tour pros.
The 2023 season will see further improvements to the G4D Tour, including the introduction of an Order of Merit which will crown the best player.
Each G4D Tour event is open to amateur and professional players of all eligible disabilities, men and women. For 2023, players will be chosen based on their ranking in the gross division of the World Ranking for Golfers with a Disability (WR4GD), as well as their placements in EDGA Tour events.
G4D Tour, news
The European Tour will reimburse players’ travel expenses, to ensure participation is open to all, regardless of their financial situation.
Another condition to participate is to be in possession of the EDGA Medical Pass (those who have the Access Pass are therefore excluded).
Since the G4D Tour was launched earlier this year, applications to enter the WR4GD and to obtain the Medical Pass have reached record levels: in 2022 the number of Medical Passes issued was equal to 20% of the total passes issued in all previous years, demonstrating the impact the G4D Tour is having on raising awareness and increasing attendance.
The DP World Tour will continue to use its social media and global broadcast relationships to showcase the G4D Tour across a range of media platforms throughout the 2023 season.
This year’s inaugural season, which culminated at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, saw Briton Kipp Pobert win four G4D Tour titles and regain his position as world number one on the WR4GD.
The other winners of the tournament were the English Mike Browne, the Italian Tommaso Perrino and the Swede Rasmus Lia. In total the G4D Tour saw the participation of golfers of ten different nationalities, demonstrating the international reach of this circuit.
The first event of the 2023 calendar, the Australian All Abilities Championship, has already taken place in early December, with Kipp Pobert’s fifth victory.
Speaking about the 2023 schedule, Keith Pelley, Group Chief Executive European Tour, said: “The G4D Tour has been a huge success since it launched earlier this year.
We have seen an unprecedented number of golfers with disabilities inquire about joining the Tour and gaining world rankings, thanks to the ability for these players to play world-class courses alongside the best players on the DP World Tour.
“We have developed a very close relationship with EDGA and the European Tour group will continue to support the association in its focus on building capacity within the golf industry, through a variety of educational and developmental activities.
I strongly believe that golf has the potential to be the most inclusive sport in the world and the G4D Tour is an important step in realizing that ambition.”
Tony Bennett, President of EDGA, added: “The G4D Tour is a visible manifestation of EDGA’s development of golf for the disabled, a process that began 22 years ago. Since our first collaboration with the European Tour group and DP World Tour, there has been exponential growth on all levels.
The G4D Tour has created greater awareness and has brought about a cascading effect with more tournaments at all levels, more National Federations building accessible activities, and of course more grassroots programs than ever before. The support that the European Tour team and DP World Tour provide to EDGA helps make this possible.”
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