England\u2019s world No.1 Kipp Popert and South Korea\u2019s Jeongwon Han have claimed commanding victories at the landmark Australian All Abilities Open at Sandhurst Club.<\/p>\n
Popert, the highest-ranked player in the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD), secured the men\u2019s title by four shots with an 8-under-par total across 54 holes, while Han claimed the women\u2019s championship by nine shots.<\/p>\n
Starting the final round with a four-shot lead, Popert carded a bogey-free 4-under 68 to hold off a spirited challenge from South Korea\u2019s world No.2 Simon Seungmin Lee, who matched his final-round score to finish runner-up at 4-under-par.<\/p>\n
Born 10 weeks premature with spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy that affects movement and muscle control in the legs, Popert found his passion for golf at a young age.<\/p>\n
He has since risen to become the world\u2019s leading golfer with a disability, first reaching the No.1 position in 2021. His career highlights include three consecutive U.S. Adaptive Open titles from 2023 to 2025 and victory at the prestigious G4D Open in 2024.<\/p>\n
This week\u2019s victory marks Popert\u2019s second major triumph on Australian soil, having also won the Australian All Abilities Championship, the event\u2019s previous iteration, in 2022.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo win the Australian national title two times now is a real privilege,\u201d Popert said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do love visiting (Australia) and it\u2019s almost like a second home to me. It\u2019s just a long, long way away.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was an awesome golf course and I was really pleased how I hit it. I\u2019ve been working quite hard on a few things and it really seemed to come together today.\u201d<\/p>\n
England\u2019s Mike Browne, who began the day tied with Lee, carded a final-round 73 to finish third at 1-over-par.<\/p>\n
World No.5 Lachlan Wood led the Australian contingent, carding a final-round 69 to finish fourth at 3-over-par.<\/p>\n
Nick Taylor also produced an inspired performance in the ParaGolfer wheelchair, carding rounds of 82-77-76 to finish seventh overall.<\/p>\n
In the women\u2019s championship, Han extended her overnight one-shot advantage over Australia\u2019s Tamsin Paige, closing with an 86 as Paige returned a 94 to secure a nine-shot victory.<\/p>\n
A left-leg amputee, Han travelled from South Korea to compete in the landmark championship.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am so happy to have travelled all the way to Australia to enjoy the wonderful game of golf with so many people with different disabilities,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In the category standings, James Gribble claimed Category 1, George Vassiliaidis won Category 2, Popert topped Category 3 and Lee secured Category 4.<\/p>\n
Pictured left to right: Kipp Popert, Jeongwon Han,\u00a0George Vassiliaidis, James Gribble, Simon Seungmin Lee.<\/p>\n
The Australian All Abilities Open marked a significant milestone for the sport, becoming the first event contested under the International Golf Federation\u2019s (IGF) new Classification Rules, developed in alignment with the International Paralympic Committee\u2019s (IPC) 2025 Classification Code.<\/p>\n
The new framework represents an important step towards golf\u2019s ambition of securing a place on the Paralympic programme at Brisbane 2032.<\/p>\n
With plans for implementation across Oceania, Africa, Europe, the Americas and Asia, the framework aims to expand access to international classification opportunities for elite golfers with disability and help build the global athlete pool required to support the sport\u2019s Paralympic aspirations.<\/p>\n