Staff WriterThe G4D Tour got the finish it deserved at The Belfry: South Africa’s Daniel Slabbert, on debut, edged Argentina’s Joshua Exequiel Riccardo in a playoff to lift his first G4D Tour title. It was tight, tense, and decided the old-fashioned way—pars beating bogeys when the heat was highest.
A gritty champion, a brutal finish
A left-leg amputee who swings like pressure never met him, Slabbert trailed by two with two to play in regulation. Then he did what winners do: birdie, birdie. Overnight leader Riccardo went birdie, then bogey, and suddenly they were back on the 18th tee at The Belfry Hotel & Resort with everything on the line in the season’s first Net-only event.
On the second extra hole, Slabbert found the only score that mattered—par—while Riccardo blinked with bogey. Curtain down. Trophy up.
“I’m absolutely delighted,” said Slabbert. “Especially with the play-off holes, I got a bit nervous out there.
“The tee shots are tight, especially holes where your second shots in are not easy. So I was really nervous.
“So I’m actually glad to be done with. It’s an absolutely amazing feeling to get it done.”
Ticket punched to the Series Finale
The victory sends Slabbert straight to the ten-player G4D Tour Series Finale, staged alongside the Rolex Grand Final supported by The R&A. That’s rarified air and a serious stage—exactly where his late-show heroics suggest he belongs.
Momentum swung, then swung back
Level at the turn, the back nine turned into a tug of war. Riccardo, born with cerebral palsy, looked to have seized control with an eagle at the par-5 15th. But The Belfry has a habit of asking a last hard question, and Slabbert had the right answer, reeling off those closing birdies to force overtime and then closing the account with par in sudden death.
New faces, familiar steel
This was the G4D Tour’s return after a three-month pause, and five players made their first starts—among them Slovenia’s Marjan Gavez, the top-ranked player in the Net standings.
Gavez tied for third with England’s Bradley Smith, both above-the-knee amputees who showed plenty of fight. Former Army veteran and 2022 Invictus Games competitor Mark Clougherty capped the top ten, proof—if you still needed it—that competitive grit travels well.
What the G4D Tour stands for
Launched in 2022 as a partnership between the DP World Tour and EDGA (formerly the European Disabled Golf Association), the G4D Tour is built on a straightforward promise: a pathway for anyone with a disability who wants to play golf, with a pinnacle that puts competitors on the same course, in the same week, as DP World Tour professionals.
Thanks to ongoing financial support from the European Tour group, EDGA continues to widen the fairway—confirming eligibility, organising tournaments, growing coach education, and taking the game to more people in more places.
Straight talk
No gloss needed: The Belfry’s closing stretch can make heroes or chew them up.Slabbert showed up, stared down the property’s tight tee shots and awkward seconds, and finished like a closer. On debut. In a playoff. That travels.
