Preview
Kipp Popert and Mark Clougherty will be looking to end their seasons in style when they tee it up in the G4D Tour Series Finale @ Rolex Grand Final this week.
The season-ending event will be played over 54 holes at Club de Golf Alcanada from October 30 – November 1, with two champions set to be crowned – one gross winner and one net winner.
Englishman Popert has enjoyed another outstanding season on the G4D Tour, as he returned from foot surgery to win twice in successive weeks.
Popert, who sits atop the World Ranking For Golfers with Disability (WR4GD), produced a flawless final round to win the G4D Tour @ Amgen Irish Open at The K Club, before winning again the very next week in the G4D Tour @ BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club, doing so for a fourth consecutive year.
The 27-year-old will be looking to defend the gross title he won at the Series Finale last year and is excited by the prospect of doing so at a new venue for 2025.
“It would be amazing,” he said. “It’s a little different this year at a new venue. It looks a real test and I’m hoping for a good result. I’ll do my best.
“From the perspective of having surgery on my left foot in January, to miss five months of golf was really challenging, so to get out to Mallorca and have this opportunity now to put in a good performance will be very special.
“It feels great to be fit again and to enjoy some results recently to be proud of. I won’t say I’ve been surprised by my good form, as I have worked really hard to get there, but the stars have certainly all aligned for me and that has been fantastic.
“My game feels very good and my foot feels very good. I feel grateful to be in good form after such a challenging time earlier in the year. I’m enjoying all my practise and can’t wait to play in Spain.”
Popert will face tough competition in the gross event with G4D Open men’s champion Brendan Lawlor from Ireland and G4D Open women’s champion Daphne van Houten from the Netherlands in the field, as well as Australian Lachlan Wood, Englishman Mike Brown – who won the Season Finale in 2023 – and Issa Nlareb from Cameroon who are all inside the world’s top ten.
Irishman Clougherty will be targeting glory in the net event after he stormed to a maiden title in the G4D Tour @ FedEx Open de France last month.
Clougherty, having held a share of the overnight lead after the opening round in France, signed for a stunning seven under par 65 on day two to end the week as an 11-shot victor.
The military veteran has overcome incredible adversity to make it to the pinnacle of the all abilities game after being medically discharged from the Royal Military Police in 2013, and after his breakthrough win, is looking forward to testing himself in Mallorca.
“This tournament feels as big as it gets,” he said. “It’s an honour and a privilege to be playing in Mallorca against the other net finalists from Canada, South Africa and Slovenia, who have all earned the right to be there.
“The win was massive. I was over the moon with my second round score and I think I was more proud of how I played from the mental point of view and how I produced that round of golf under the circumstances and pressure.
“I’m really excited about Spain and trying to maintain the same strategy with my game and not deviate from the plan.”
Competing alongside Clougherty in the net competition will be Canadian Kelly Masson, who is an above knee amputee and who is currently top of the net World Rankings, Slovenian Marjan Gavez who made his G4D Tour debut earlier this year, and Daniel Slabbert from South Africa, who won in his first start at the G4D Tour @ Betfred British Masters in August.
The G4D Tour was launched in 2022 as a partnership between the DP World Tour and EDGA, formally the European Disabled Golf Association. The G4D player pathway aims to cater for everyone with a disability who wants to play golf, and for many, the G4D Tour is seen as the pinnacle of competition with competitors playing on the same course, in the same week, as the leading Tour professionals on the DP World Tour.
Due to the European Tour group’s ongoing financial support, EDGA has been able to raise awareness, confirm eligibility, organise tournaments, and deliver golf development and coach education worldwide.
Field for the G4D Tour Series Finale @ Rolex Grand Final
Gross
Kipp Popert (ENG)
Lachlan Wood (AUS)
Brendan Lawlor (IRL)
Issa Nlareb (CAM)
Daphne van Houten (NED)
Mike Browne (ENG)
Net
Kelly Masson (CAN)
Mark Clougherty (IRL)
Marjan Gavez (SLO)
Daniel Slabbert (RSA)
