EDGA (European Disabled Golf Association) is proud to announce the release of its latest film project, You Can, a powerful 30-minute documentary that showcases the transformative impact of golf for individuals with disability around the world.

Building on the success of previous acclaimed projects such as Mulligan and Living Our Best Lives, You Can is the next stage in EDGA’s mission to promote genuine inclusion through honest storytelling. The film is supported by The R&A and narrated by multiple major champion Pádraig Harrington, a long-time supporter of The R&A.

Filmed across several countries, You Can celebrates the diversity of the global G4D (Golf for the Disabled) community. Among those featured are:

• Issa Nlareb, a double-leg amputee from Cameroon
• Chris Willis, a Canadian golfer born with VACTERL syndrome and a rare association of birth impairments
• Torbjörn Svensson, a blind and deaf golfer from Sweden
• Melody Roccaz, a seated golfer from France.

Together, their stories highlight not only the diversity of disability, but also the rich tapestry of gender, race, nationality, and personal experience—all unified by the joy, freedom, and empowerment found in golf.

Tony Bennett, President of EDGA, said: “This film is a statement of possibility. It’s not just about golf, it’s about showing people what they can do, who they can become, and how sport can unlock confidence, community, and opportunity. We believe it will inspire more people with disability to pick up a club and take that first swing.”

EDGA’s wider You Can campaign aims to be both highly encouraging and also practical, to empower viewers through the knowledge of how to get involved, whether through local golf programmes, national federations, or the growing number of G4D events across the world.

Pádraig Harrington added: “Four amazing people, and four amazing stories. Their message to you: you can play golf. I hope they’ve inspired you to take up this wonderful sport.”

EDGA internal teams created the film alongside Big Bounce Productions. It will be broadcast on Sky Sports on December 3, at 7.30pm, with additional international airings planned. The film will be available on EDGA’s website and social media channels, providing a valuable tool for golf clubs, coaches, educators, and advocates to help spread awareness and opportunity.

See more on EDGA at edgagolf.com

“You Can” seeks to encourage brand new golfers with a disability through the shared personal experiences of established players. Their highly positive messages and stories aim to ignite the imagination of others to join in and try the game.

While “You Can” is all about putting each golfer first, inspiring each individual to dream, it enhances EDGA’s mission to make golf truly inclusive for people with a disability.

The campaign launch coincides with the EDGA Algarve Open at Pestana Vila Sol and the organisation’s 25th anniversary celebrations. During the event, a new EDGA book will be seen for the first time – called Changing Lives – that tracks the evolution and key milestones of EDGA, while players will be presented with a memento to commemorate a quarter of a century and the launch of “You Can”.

Now live across EDGA’s digital touch-points and rolling out through member countries (EDGA advises and supports 50 national golf federations), the “You Can” campaign is designed to empower individuals with disability to see golf as a sport where they truly belong. Its central message, “You Can Play Golf”, is supported by three powerful themes: Make Friends, Compete, and Improve Health. Together, these emotive messages reflect the broader impact of golf beyond the course.

“With ‘You Can’, we’re flipping the script,” said Scott Bennett, Head of Marketing at EDGA. “This isn’t about inclusion as an afterthought, it’s about representation that feels real, powerful, and personal. Golf can offer confidence, health, community, and competition, and this campaign reflects exactly that. We wanted to make sure this project speaks to people with disabilities, not just about them.”

The EDGA team feels that unlike many sports campaigns in which disability is added almost as a side note, “You Can” was built by, and for, the G4D (Golf for the Disabled) community.

Crucially, every image, message, and story is drawn from real players and their lived experiences. It highlights the diversity of disability, not just the most commonly represented, and brings to life the barriers, breakthroughs, and benefits that only those with first-hand experience can truly articulate.

Rita Sampaio, the designer who created the campaign for EDGA pro bono, said: “The concept behind this campaign is ability, regardless of the limitations each person may have. The focus is on the player and their skill in the game of golf. ‘You Can’ is a message of empowerment, an invitation for more people with disabilities to experience this inclusive sport. We want every person with a disability to see it and think, ‘Yes, I can do that too.’ Everyone featured is a real golfer, with a true story. That’s what gives the campaign its strength.”

With QR codes on all materials linking to deeper content: videos, interviews, and written stories, “You Can” encourages confident participation through honest storytelling. The campaign is designed to reach future players where it matters most: including in rehabilitation centres, hospitals, and community spaces. And thanks to its adaptable branding, member countries can tailor the messaging while staying aligned to a unified, global movement.

The “You Can” materials are now integrated into the EDGA 8-Stage Programme, which is supported by The R&A and explores: getting started; locations (assisting venues); the workforce; communication; encouraging new and regular players; competitions and events; professional coaching education; and legacy.

Through this programme, EDGA aims to support the growth and capacity of national federations as they work to attract individuals with a disability to the game of golf.

See more on EDGA at edgagolf.com

The top two players on the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD) had a final day showdown in the sun over the Duchess Course with Popert’s closing two-over-par 74 securing a winning total of one-over 217.

Englishman Popert, who has cerebral palsy, was edged out by Lawlor in last year’s inaugural Championship but this time the 25-year-old prevailed to secure a tenth G4D Tour title.

Ireland’s Lawlor, who has a rare condition called Ellis–van Creveld syndrome, put up a stout defence but was made to rue mistakes as he finished with a four-over 76 for 218.

Canadian Chris Willis was third on six-over 222 with the Australian pair of Wayne Perske and Lachlan Wood a stroke further back.

Lawlor, 27, held a slender one-shot lead overnight and doubled his advantage in the glorious conditions with a birdie at the opening hole. He found trouble on both par-3s on the front nine, taking a double bogey on the 2nd and the 7th, allowing Popert to lead by one after his birdie on the 8th.

But Popert had difficulties of his own on the demanding par-4 9th for a double bogey, with Lawlor also dropping a shot to leave them both at one-over heading into the back nine.

Popert’s birdie at the 10th and Lawlor’s back-to-back bogeys saw the world’s best player go three clear. A bogey from the leader at the next and brilliant birdies from Lawlor at the 15th and 16th suddenly brought the duo back level, before the world number two caught his approach shot heavy at the 17th which led to an untimely bogey. Popert coolly holed from two feet for a winning par at the last.

Established last year, the Championship – held in partnership between The R&A and the DP World Tour and supported by EDGA (formally the European Disabled Golf Association) – is one of the most inclusive ever staged.

The G4D Open featured nine sport classes across multiple impairment groups, with 80 men and women players of both amateur and professional status, aged 15-68, representing 19 countries.

With Popert the Men’s Champion, Dutch player Daphne van Houten – the leading woman at 25th on the WR4GD – was crowned the Women’s Champion. Van Houten, 25, who suffers from scoliosis, finished 17 shots clear of England’s Aimi Bullock.

Both men’s and women’s winners were presented with new trophies to reflect the multiple threads woven among the players on their journeys to compete in The G4D Open.

A gross prize was also awarded in each sport class, covering various categories in Standing, Intellectual, Visual and Sitting.

The men’s gross prize winners were as follows:

• Intellectual 1: Cameron Pollard, Australia
• Intellectual 2: Thomas Blizzard, England
• Standing 1: Juan Postigo Arce, Spain
• Standing 2: Kipp Popert, England
• Standing 3: Brendan Lawlor, Ireland
• Sitting 1: Terry Kirby, England
• Sitting 2: Richard Kluwen, The Netherlands
• Visual 1: Paul O’Rahilly, Ireland
• Visual 2: John Eakin, England

The women’s gross prize winners were as follows:

• Intellectual 2: Erika Malmberg, Sweden
• Standing 1: Alessandra Donati, Italy
• Standing 2: Aimi Bullock, England
• Standing 3: Daphne van Houten, The Netherlands

Final scores from the sport classes can be viewed here.

Highlights from the Championship will be aired on Sky Sports Golf from Monday 27 May at 5pm and throughout that week.

The establishment of The G4D Open follows on from the inclusion of the Modified Rules of Golf for Players with Disability in the Rules of Golf and The R&A and USGA’s ongoing administration of the WR4GD.

Woburn continued its rich history of hosting amateur and professional championships with Final Qualifying for The Open from 2014 to 2017 and most recently the AIG Women’s Open in 2019, both played on the Marquess Course.

For more information please visit RANDA.ORG

The golfers with a disability coming from 10 countries and four continents were revealed today. They will assemble at Quinta do Lago, Portugal, in January (21-25), 2024, for the first Player Development Camp of its kind, supported by the European Tour Group.

In a planned intense week of learning, professional specialists in their field, including coaches, nutritionists, performance experts and marketeers, will offer training and advice to the promising players, who have all qualified to take part via the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD).

The 12-player group, none of whom have played in a previous G4D Tour or EDGA Professional Tour event, will be made up of the eligible top five players in the Gross Ranking, the leading three eligible women players and four emerging talents.

It is anticipated that the level of assistance offered to the emerging talent pool in this first and subsequent PDCs will only serve to energise further the competitive pathway in G4D (golf for the disabled) created by EDGA over the last decade or so. The international golfers taking part can gain the tools to challenge the leading lights on the already successful G4D Tour, while showing a great many other players in the World Ranking that there is a route to the very top open to those who are dedicated to work on their game and improve.

Launched in 2022 by EDGA and the European Tour Group, the G4D Tour sees golfers with a disability compete on the same course and in the same week as the professionals on the DP World Tour.

The following players will be welcomed by the EDGA team of experts to Quinta do Lago:

Russell Aide (aged 16, Canada), Thomas Colombel (aged 21, France), Heather Gilks (aged 18, England), Casper Holst-Christensen (aged 27, Denmark), Mehmet Kazan (aged 42, Turkey), Tycho Kuiper (aged 14, The Netherlands), Rene Schwenk (aged 24, Germany), Daniel Slabbert (aged 32, South Africa), Natasha Stasiuk (aged 25, Canada), Gustav Stigsson-Andersson (aged 18, Sweden), Natascha Tennent (aged 16, Australia), and Chris Willis (aged 43, Canada).

Invitations were sent out to the leading eligible players in the World Ranking from the 39 EDGA member countries (who had not competed in a previous G4D Tour or EDGA Professional Tour event), and also included highly rated emerging female G4D players and leading young talent.

EDGA President Tony Bennett said: “We are delighted with the cross-section of talented and switched-on players taking part in our first EDGA Player Development Camp from 10 countries, who have all exhibited a thirst to learn and a joy in pushing themselves on. Although the G4D Tour is an understandable draw for players to test themselves over championship golf course set-ups in the exciting weeks of the DP World Tour, the PDC is about helping these players to develop skills to take on any test in golf. The specialists on site and the wonderful facilities at Quinta do Lago, will give the players the opportunity to explore their potential.”

Tony added: “Our work is to make the journey from sampler to competitive golfer seamless. Not everyone wants the same thing from golf, and that is the overall message for an inclusive landscape, which is to provide choice across the player pathway. There has never been greater opportunity for golfers with a disability, but G4D is still young in its development and there is a lot more to come. The PDC is just one of our initiatives that will help the whole player pathway, while we can see the number of golf courses improving their facilities increasing, more professional coaches learning how to better train players with disabilities, and an increase in the number of tournaments available at every level.”

During the PDC week players will have the opportunity to learn from others how to develop their knowledge and skill sets, and how they can use these to add fuel to their career development.

More details of the line-up of specialists who will support the PDC will be revealed soon, as will thoughts and expectations of the players taking part.

See more on EDGA at www.edgagolf.com

A key ambition is to further enhance the current classification of players with different impairments into ‘sports classes’ that will ultimately help the golf industry to understand and attract more of the 15% of people worldwide who have a disability.

EDGA believes that it will not only be the players who benefit from the research findings, as tournament organisers, national governing bodies, PGA coaches, professionals working in sports medicine, and equipment manufacturers will also find the results of this study valuable in helping support the growing market of G4D (golf for the disabled).

The research began during back-to-back EDGA Tour events at the Amendoeira Golf Resort in Portugal in January. The EDGA development and eligibility team used a Trackman launch monitor to record an initial 1,100 golf shots from 25 EDGA golfers with a range of impairments, including paraplegia, limb amputation, limited mobility and neurological weakness. Metrics included capturing ‘smash factor’, spin rate and clubhead speed.

The plan is to analyse at least 200 golfers over the next year, including players with visual impairments. Research will continue at key EDGA Tour events in Scotland, Ireland and England, including at the inaugural The G4D Open, staged by The R&A with support from the DP World Tour, at Woburn in May. Video will also be used as the project grows, and it is hoped this initiative will continue far beyond the initial 200 players.

EDGA has extensive knowledge accrued over 22 years in the classification of golfers with a disability and their eligibility for different forms of competition. The not-for-profit organisation created many of the medical protocols used in player assessment worldwide, set up the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (now run by The R&A and the USGA), and stages, or is associated with, more than 100 international G4D tournaments in a calendar year.

Ethics approval

Professor Eric Wallace from Ulster University helped develop the protocols of the new research, and gave ethics approval. The first results are expected to be published in 2023.

Leading the project, Dr Roger Hawkes, EDGA Executive Director of Eligibility, said: “To examine in detail the swing characteristics of a large cohort of players with a disability should give the golf industry far better understanding of how different impairments influence a golf swing, thus unlocking a door to the needs of more golfers.

“This research will help golf’s governing bodies in the important areas of classification, and sports classes, around different player impairments for events. Meanwhile, we can all help to include more new players with a disability to start in golf. This project can help more people with different health conditions to enjoy all the great things that the sport offers.”

PGA coach Mark Taylor, Head of Development for EDGA, led the first player session at Amendoeira. Mark said: “The ball flight and impact data collected from the cohort of players with various impairments will form a starting point for the ongoing research. Analysis of the data, specifically impact data and subsequent ball flight patterns, will help collate – as the research progresses and the cohort of players analysed increases – valuable information in categorising the sports classes.”

Evidence based research

Mark added: “The recognition of impact commonalities across the various impairments will also hugely assist in providing evidence based research to support our coach education programmes, subsequently better positioning coaches to provide improved coaching to golfers with limitations.”

Mark Taylor wanted to give special thanks to The R&A, and leading audit, tax and consulting firm RSM UK, for their continued support in EDGA’s research, and also to Srixon for providing golf balls throughout this intensive testing programme. All are strong supporters of EDGA as it seeks to change the lives of people with disability through the power of golf. The objective is to help 500,000 people with disability to try the game.

William Wynter Bee is a Sports and Exercise Medicine doctor based at the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health (ISEH) at University College London Hospitals (UCLH), and is the Medical Lead for the Legends Tour. Will is helping EDGA for the year to maximise the health benefits for the golfers taking part in the research.

Will said: “The opening of this research has already put us together with some competitive and talented golfers who love the game. Looking ahead, through the data and also the insights of 200 or more golfers, this will provide some fantastic learning for us. We hope we can support the players by way of strong findings from a health perspective, including advancing the cause of fitness and avoiding injury. It will be great if this leads to the golf industry being able to welcome more people with chronic health conditions to play, where regular exercise can make a major difference in their lives.”

See more on EDGA at www.edgagolf.com