Horne Park GC member George Groves was crowned EDGA champion in Dubai.
Picture by GETTY IMAGES

WORLD No. 1 George Groves held off the challenge of America’s Chad Pfeifer to win the inaugural European Disabled Golf Association finale in Dubai.

The 36-hole event featured some of the world’s best Golfers with Disability and was taking place alongside the European Tour’s season ending DP World Tour Championship.

The Surrey golfer has Erb’s Palsy, a condition which leaves him with 20 per cent strength in his left arm after a medical accident during birth.

But that has not stopped the Horne Park GC member from rising to the top of the World Rankings for Golfers with Disability.

An opening 77 handed him a three-shot lead and it looked like Groves might run away with things when he birdied the first in round two.

Military man Pfeifer took up golf after having his leg blown off in Iraq serving for the US Army’s 3rd Airborne Battalion.

And the 2011 US National Amputee Golf Champion applied some pressure as he carded the lowest round of the day with a 79.

But Groves went on to sign for an 82 and finish 15-over – three shots clear of Pfeifer at Jumeirah Golf’s Earth Course,

“It’s fantastic,” said Groves. “I’m going to go home very proud of myself, celebrate with my friends and family. It will be really good.

“This tour has really changed my life. I think it’s just changed me as a person, changed me as a golfer.

“I’m just really happy that I’ve actually managed to get into stuff like that,” said Groves who won the English Disability Open at Stoke-by-Nayland GC, in September.

“It’s really good to get us involved and on TV and to show other people with disabilities to get more into golf and, instead of lounging around at home, be confident in themselves and get out there and show what you can do.

“When I was younger I was a footballer and I was told to do exercise for my arm. My parents said ‘do golf.’ I went to the range one day and I thought this could be something so I took golf up.

“To come out and win this, be World No. 1, is just incredible,” added Groves. I’m pretty sure I’ve 100 per cent done the right choice.”

It was the second EDGA event taking place in conjunction with a Rolex Series event on the 2019 Race to Dubai.

Groves finished second to Brendan Lawlor at the EDGA Scottish Open, held during the weekend of the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, at North Berwick’s The Renassiance GC, in July.

American Christopher Biggins finished at 20-over, with Frenchman Charles-Henri Quélin, Irishman Lawlor, Australian Geoff Nicholas and Swede Joakim Bjorkman rounding out the field.

•To see video highlights from the EDGA final click here.

The post George Groves adds Dubai crown to English Disability Open win at EDGA finale appeared first on Golf North.

Sweden’s Joakim Bjorkman is one of two invites for the EDGA Dubai Finale which will be played over 36 holes during the DP World Tour Championship at Dubai’s Jumeirah Golf Estates, next month. Picture by GETTY IMAGES / EUROPEAN TOUR

SWEDE Joakim Bjorkman and American Chad Pfeifer are the final two EDGA golfers confirmed for the EDGA Dubai Finale, the new 36-hole tournament for Golfers with Disability.

It will run alongside the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai at Jumeirah Golf Estates, in November.

The EDGA Dubai Finale will be staged on November 22 and 23 – at one of the European Tour’s biggest events of the year – with six players from the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD) qualifying, plus the two wildcard invitations accepted by Bjorkman and Pfeifer.

Bjorkman, a two-time winner of the European Team Championship for Sweden, suffers from achondroplasia – a form of short-limbed dwarfism – and will compete for the first time at the inaugural EDGA Dubai Finale.

Bjorkman said: “I’m delighted to have the opportunity to tee it up alongside some of the best golfers in the world at the EDGA Dubai Finale in November.

“The European Tour and EDGA lead the way when it comes to promoting the game for golfers with a disability and providing us with playing opportunities.

“It has been incredible to see over the past year with events like the EDGA Scottish Open and I am thrilled to be part of the inaugural event in Dubai,” Bjorkman added.

Pfeifer, the current World No. 10, is a former US Army Airborne Infantry veteran and three-time National Amputee Champion in the United States.

Chad Pfeifer is a US Army veteran and will travel from the USA as the second invite for the EDGA Dubia Finale. Picture by GETTY IMAGES / EUROPEAN TOUR

“The EDGA Dubai Finale is going to be an exceptional event and I can’t wait for the challenge,” said Pfeifer.

“It is a great field stacked with so many talented golfers and I have no doubt the golf course will be a fantastic test for us all.”

The eight-man field will also feature EDGA Scottish Open champion Brendan Lawlor, Englishmen George Groves and Mike Browne, Frenchman Charles-Henri Quélin, American Chris Biggins and Australian Geoff Nicholas.

DP World Tour Championship tournament director David Garland said: “We are thrilled to have the EDGA Dubai Finale running concurrently with the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.

“We cannot wait to see these eight incredible golfers put their skills to the ultimate test at Jumeirah Golf Estates next month.

“The European Tour is excited to continue our work alongside EDGA to offer golfers with disability the opportunity to play competitive tournaments at our highest profile events and to ultimately promote the inclusive nature of our game to our global audience.”

EDGA president Tony Bennett said: “The eight players who will compete are not only representing golf as an inclusive sport but stand on the shoulders of thousands of golfers who have impairments, some of whom, due to the severity or nature of their impairment, could never dream of taking on such a golf course under tournament conditions.

“With gross, nett and Stableford rankings available on the official WR4GD, golf is recognising that all competitors can reach the higher levels in their respective rankings,” added Tony who is also the International Golf Federation’s head of disability and inclusion.

“The players on show will represent EDGA, and the growing body of players who compete in golf despite their impairment, exceptionally well, not only on the golf course, but in the way that they interact with the fans, the press and those who wish to try golf as a viable sporting option.

“Our thanks go to the European Tour, DP World and RSM for making this opportunity possible to showcase the abilities of the players who have worked hard to compete.”

“The EDGA Dubai Finale field is shaping up nicely and we are thrilled to be championing Golfers with Determination at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship,” said Daniel Van Otterdijk, senior vice-president of DP World Group Communications.

“The initiative ties in nicely with the Year of Tolerance and builds on our 10-year partnership with the European Tour, that continues to attract thousands of young people from the UAE to golf each year.”

Scoring for both tournaments will feature on the European Tour’s website and app for fans to follow, while highlights of both contests will form part of the world feed broadcast.

Entry List – 2019 EDGA Dubai Finale
Category One – Leading six available players from the World Rankings for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD) week 36.
George Groves – England
Mike Browne – England
Brendan Lawlor – Ireland
Charles-Henri Quélin – France
Chris Biggins – USA
Geoff Nicholas – Australia
Category 2 – Tournament Invites
Joakim Bjorkman – Sweden
Chad Pfeifer – USA

The post EDGA Dubai Finale line-up confirmed with invites for Bjorkman and Pfeifer appeared first on Golf North.