A raft of highly rated golfers with disability could disrupt the favourites for the EGA Individual Championship in the Netherlands this week.
It’s one of the standout events that players dream of winning in ‘G4D’ (golf for the disabled): the 2023 European Individual Championship for Golfers with Disability. To find success, a high quality international field must seek to conquer the much-admired and challenging ‘The Dutch’ Golf Course which staged three European Tour KLM Opens in recent times.
Some 80 golfers from 20 nations will gather for the tournament organised by EDGA and the EGA (European Golf Association), to compete for three titles, European men’s and women’s championships for G4D players and the European championship for seated players.
Travelling to Spijk in West Betuwe, in the east-centre of the Netherlands, golfers who play with a range of disabilities will assess their form on the Colin Montgomerie-designed, par 71 course on the practice day on Wednesday, July 19, before playing 54 holes of stroke play for the respective championships over three days (July 20-22).
The European Individual Championship is held every two years (alternating with the European Team Championship). Last held in 2021 at the Amendoeira Golf Resort in Portugal, Juan Postigo Arce of Spain (men’s individual), and the Netherlands pair of Daphne van Houten (women’s) and Richard Kluwen (seated players) all successfully defended their titles.
Juan Postigo’s stunning third successive victory in this championship was secured amid much fanfare due to three great rounds on the O’Connor Jr Course, his seven-under par showing of 69, 71, 69 taking the title by six shots.
Daphne van Houten enjoyed a statement 15 shot victory to win her title again after rounds of 74, 76, 71 and Richard Kluwen also successfully defended his trophy with scores of 87, 82 and 83.
Many observers would agree that this year’s field is the strongest ever, where the 24 highest World Ranked men (World Ranking for Golfers with Disability/WR4GD) qualified by right to attend, as did the five highest ranked women and the five highest ranked seated players, with all remaining places in the field of 80 being awarded by golf handicap level for a tournament which is supported by EDGA, the Dutch Golf Federation and The Dutch Golf Course.
Although G4D continues to grow and player performance is improving at pace, Juan Postigo retains his tag of tournament favourite after excellent 2023 performances. Juan is currently ranked Number four in the World, the highest ranking player at The Dutch. The Spaniard won June’s G4D Tour @ Volvo Scandinavian Mixed in Stockholm, and came third in the inaugural G4D Open at Woburn in May. However, the field in the Netherlands contains enough of the World’s top-20 ranked players who are all capable of tearing up the script for Juan Postigo.
Sweden’s Rasmus Lia (ranked 8) and Italy’s Tommaso Perrino (9) have both won prestigious G4D Tour events in the last 12 months and have been in fine form. Ireland won the European Team Championship in 2022 and team members Conor Stone, Aidan Grenham and Alan Gaynor are all World Top-25 players who will be flying the Irish flag as they now look for individual victory. England’s Bradley Smith (ranked 15) has been knocking on the door of a landmark title for some time, while Sweden’s Johan Kammerstad (ranked 20) and South Africa’s David Watts (17) have both won on the G4D Tour in fine style.
While Dutch fans will be pinning their hopes on home favourites Mari Berkers, Harry van der Valk and Tycho Kuiper (who at aged 14 is the youngest in the field), three of G4D’s most talented golfers whose ranking position hides their threat, Charles-Henri Quelin of France, Manuel de los Santos of the Dominican Republic and Adem Wahbi of Belgium, all have the quality and firepower to disrupt the status quo.
Eleven female players are in the field and the defending champion Daphne van Houten (World Ranked 26th at the time of writing) is the highest ranked Netherlands player, male or female. Her bid to win a third successive European Individual Championship may yet be ended by Germany’s Jennifer Sraga, who acquitted herself well at the recent G4D Tour @ Volvo Scandinavian Mixed in Stockholm. Another significant threat will come from Ireland’s Fiona Gray, who came second in the women’s category of The G4D Open at Woburn and who gained further top-level experience in the Scandinavian Mixed. It would also be foolish to overlook Denmark’s Mette Wegge Lynggaard, who hasn’t played quite as much at the top level in the last two years yet her top-80 World Ranking and her strong reputation as a player both underline her ability to contest for the title.
The European Championship for seated players will be contested by six golfers this year who play from a powered wheelchair that can lift the player up into their stance to play their shot. Graham Freeman of Belgium, Fernando Vega de Seoane and Sebas Lorente of Spain, Melody Roccaz of France, Richard Kluwen of the Netherlands, and Ian St John of Ireland, will all be competing hard, but Richard Kluwen has been the outstanding competitor in this category across the big G4D events in recent years and will be the hot favourite to defend the championship he won two years ago.
Kluwen, van Houten and Postigo: remember the names but don’t start engraving those trophies just yet. It’s all to play for at The Dutch, and the competition has never been stronger for this premier G4D championship.