Staff WriterThe G4D Open arrived at Celtic Manor Resort for the first time and, rather politely, the Roman Road Course immediately removed its jacket, rolled up its sleeves and started asking difficult questions.
On a day when the weather behaved like a grumpy marshal with a clipboard, England’s Kipp Popert and Canada’s Natasha Stasiuk emerged as the opening-round leaders in one of golf’s most inclusive and quietly compelling championships.
Popert, the world number one on the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability, signed for a two-over-par 72 to take a one-shot lead in the men’s event. Stasiuk, meanwhile, carded an 80 to edge ahead in the women’s championship after a round that required patience, nerve and probably a second pair of waterproof socks.
Popert Makes His Move On Roman Road
For Popert, this was not merely another tidy day at the office. The 27-year-old, who lives with spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy affecting his lower limbs, missed last year’s championship at Woburn following foot surgery.
Now back in the thick of it, he is chasing a second G4D Open men’s title after his 2024 success. His opening 72 was hardly a stroll through the daffodils — four birdies, six bogeys and plenty of weather-induced mischief — but it was exactly the sort of card that tells you a player understands when to attack and when to stop wrestling the crocodile.
Popert leads by one from Cameroon’s Issa Nlareb, who posted a 73. Behind them, defending champion Brendan Lawlor of Ireland and Australia’s Lachlan Wood, last year’s runner-up, sit on four-over. Also lurking close enough to make things uncomfortable is Simon Seungmin Lee, the number two player on the WR4GD, among the group at five-over.
In other words, Popert has the lead. He does not yet have the keys to the wine cellar.
A Champion With Nothing To Prove
Popert’s place at the top of the G4D game is already well established, but high-performance sport tends not to hand out sympathy cards. Every round is still an exam, and Celtic Manor was in no mood to mark generously.
After his opening round, Popert said:
“I’ll be honest, I hope to win more of these and I hope to keep playing well. I don’t think I’ve got much to prove. I think my track record in disabled tournaments on the G4D Tour and others, US Adaptive Open, shows what I can do when I’m healthy.
“I want disabled golf to grow off the back of high-performance. Brendan is a close friend of mine. Brendan is an example of someone who’s extremely high performing. It’s nice to have an extremely close relationship – I was at his wedding – and to also have the competitive nature as well.”
That last line says plenty. This is a championship built on inclusion, yes, but nobody has come to Celtic Manor for a ceremonial handshake and a nice sandwich. The G4D Open is competitive golf. Properly competitive. Scorecards still bleed. Pins still hide. Putts still lip out with all the sympathy of a tax inspector.
Stasiuk Finds Her Rhythm In Familiar Weather
In the women’s event, Natasha Stasiuk took the early advantage with an opening 80, helped by birdies at the 6th and 9th. The Canadian leads Germany’s Jennifer Sräga by one stroke.
Stasiuk, 27, has an auditory processing condition and autism, and she arrived at Celtic Manor with a substantial adaptive golf pedigree. She has won the intellectual impairment category at the US Adaptive Open three times in succession and is a five-time Canadian winner.
Her first-round lead was not carved out in perfect sunshine and postcard conditions. It was built in the sort of weather that can turn a backswing into a negotiation.
“I thought I played pretty well considering the conditions. It felt like home back in Canada because I played in the hail before and the wind and the rain and the cold.
“I’m hoping I can stay calm. I don’t really have any expectations, just to play my hardest. Even though I’ve been under the weather the past couple days I’m just going to go and play.”
That is tournament golf in its purest form: stay calm, stay upright, keep playing. Occasionally, that is as technical as it needs to get.
Lawlor Still Dangerous In Defence
Brendan Lawlor, the defending champion, may be three shots back, but nobody around the G4D Open will be foolish enough to write him off. The Irishman sits at four-over alongside Lachlan Wood, which is close enough to stay dangerous and far enough away to sharpen the mind.
Lawlor knows this championship is not designed to be easy. Nor should it be. The Roman Road Course, under difficult conditions, demanded restraint as much as flair.
“The biggest thing is staying patient out there and maybe not going for certain pins, just having a proper game plan when you play a course like this, which is fun. It means you have to tinker around a bit.
“When you play in America, you can make a lot of birdies but The G4D Open is designed to be hard and that’s what it is. I’m going to try to stay calm, keep hitting greens and try to make putts. I said at the start of the week my goal is to get to the final group on Saturday and get myself in position to win it again.”
That is the defending champion’s blueprint: no panic, no heroics too early, no need to fire at flags tucked away like contraband.
Celtic Manor Gets Its Moment
Celtic Manor member Richie Willis had the honour of striking the opening tee shot at 8am, in front of family and friends. For the 68-year-old, whose life changed dramatically after an above-the-knee right leg amputation following a road traffic accident, the moment carried significance beyond his eventual score of 87.
Golf has a habit of measuring everything in numbers. Pars, bogeys, yardages, rankings. But some moments sit outside arithmetic.
Willis gave the championship its first swing at Celtic Manor, and while the scorecard may not have smiled, the occasion certainly mattered.
Later in the day, three-time World Snooker Champion Mark Williams was among those watching the action, adding a familiar Welsh sporting face to an event already rich in character.
A Global Field With Real Depth
The G4D Open is staged in partnership with The R&A and the DP World Tour, supported by EDGA, and brings together 80 men and women players of amateur and professional status.
The championship is played over 54 holes of gross stroke play, with overall men’s and women’s winners crowned alongside trophies across nine sport classes. Those classes span recognised impairment groups covering Standing, Intellectual, Visual and Sitting categories.
This year’s field features players from 25 nations, five more than last year, with competitors aged from 16 to 70. That spread tells its own story. The G4D Open is not a side note to the game. It is part of the game’s expanding competitive landscape.
And crucially, it is free for spectators to attend at Celtic Manor, with free car parking too. In modern sport, that is almost as rare as a three-putt apology.
The Chase Is Properly On
After round one, the men’s championship has Popert in front but Lawlor, Wood, Nlareb and Lee all close enough to make Saturday feel a long way off. In the women’s event, Stasiuk has the lead, but with only one shot separating her from Sräga, the margin is thinner than a hotel rasher.
The Roman Road Course has already shown it can punish impatience. If the weather continues to meddle, the G4D Open will become less about perfection and more about management: controlling trajectory, accepting bogeys, taking birdies when they appear and keeping one’s head while Celtic Manor rearranges the furniture.
Popert and Stasiuk have made the first statement. Not a shout. More of a firm knock on the clubhouse door.
Now comes the harder bit: doing it again.
