Spain’s Juan Postigo Arce claimed his first Golf for the Disabled Tour title with victory at the G4D Tour @ Hero Cup held at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.
The Spaniard posted a closing level-par 72 to finish on one over par after 36 holes, two clear of Canadian Kurtis Barkley in second, while Irishman Brendan Lawlor was a shot further back in third on four over.
Postigo Arce started brightly with birdies at the first and third, before immediately dropping a shot on the fourth and a further blemish at the ninth to make the turn in level par. The 27-year-old, who was born without much of his right leg and no knee, birdied the par-three 12th before five consecutive pars meant he arrived at the 18th tee with a three-stroke lead. He found the water off the tee at the last but managed to limit the damage by dropping only one shot to secure a memorable win in Abu Dhabi.
“It feels great,” he said. “After last year, I played pretty good golf, but the win didn’t come. It’s the best way to start 2023 and hopefully there’s many more to come.
“I made two big mistakes with yardages on 18. They moved the tee forward and I shouldn’t have hit driver and went into the water. Then, with the rangefinder, instead of measuring the distance to the pin we measured the clubhouse in the background, so we made a few mistakes, but thankfully we still managed to bring the trophy home.”
The second season of the G4D Tour will feature a minimum of eight events, as the world’s leading players with disability try to win the new Order of Merit. G4D tournaments will be closely linked to DP World Tour tournaments, playing on the same course during the same tournament week, culminating in the G4D Tour @ DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.