Cerebral palsy golfer Kipp Popert tees off on the DP World Tour at the Austrian Alpine Open, following the indefinite postponement of the G4D (Golf for the Disabled) Tour. Popert, a 15-time G4D winner and world No 1 for Golfers with Disability, discussed how t
When the sun came up over the Austrian Alps, Kipp Popert was already doing what he’s built a career on: fighting for every inch of momentum.
The Englishman. who has cerebral palsy. teed off at the Austrian Alpine Open on the DP World Tour—his debut appearance on golf’s top global circuit. He arrived in Kitzbuhel-Schwarzsee-Reith. among a packed field that included hometown hero Sepp Straka. and Englishmen James Morrison and Brandon Robinson-Thompson. Yanhan Zhou set the early pace after an eight-under 62 in the first round.
Popert’s own round began with a steady grind. He went three-over-par through his opening nine holes, made the turn, and managed to keep the pressure on. He paired two birdies with two bogeys before a late double-bogey, followed by a birdie and a bogey, left him with a five-over-par 75.
He also showed what has defined him across years of competition: touch on the greens. On the par-four 12th, he drained a long-range right-to-left swinging putt to secure a birdie. He then rolled in another from a similar distance on the 16th.
Popert’s path to this moment was never a straight line. He is a 15-time winner on the G4D Tour. where he won last year’s G4D Tour Series Final at Club de Golf Alcanada in Mallorca. He also became the first player to qualify to play in the R&A’s Amateur Championship at Royal Lytham and St Annes in 2022.
In 2025, he added to his stature by winning four G4D events, moving to No 1 in the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability after those victories.
But this week’s debut arrives with a shadow behind it. Popert’s last appearance on the G4D Tour came in May at the G4D Open at Celtic Manor Resort in Wales, where he finished tied for seventh on the leaderboard as South Korean Simon Seungmin Lee claimed victory.
Then came the pause.
In April. it was announced that the G4D Tour—hosting the world’s best golfers with disabilities at a series of events around the world—was set to be postponed for the foreseeable future. The DP World Tour later said it will continue to host the annual G4D Open and a G4D Ryder Cup match between Team Europe and Team USA later this year.
When Popert spoke about the news in May, he described how hard it hit. “I took it quite hard to be honest. It’s my livelihood, it’s how I’ve earnt my money for the last five years.”
The DP World Tour framed its response as a transition rather than an end. In a statement, it said it will continue discussions with the European Disabled Golf Association, the R&A and the International Golf Federation on a new schedule for the G4D Tour.
Its plan, the statement said, is to focus on “organising two major events that will provide the biggest platform for golfers with a disability.” Those events include “the annual G4D Open, run in partnership with the R&A,” and “a new G4D match at the 2027 Ryder Cup.”
The statement also said: “We established the G4D Tour to grow participation and are proud of the fact that today, the numbers of golfers with a disability playing our sport competitively has grown significantly. G4D is now entering a new chapter with a wider range of stakeholders creating events.”
It added it will keep discussing “with EDGA [European Disabled Golf Association], the IGF [International Golf Federation] and the R&A on a new structure that builds on the momentum generated by the G4D Tour and one that can ultimately realise the ambition of golf entering the Paralympics.”
Popert has not waited for the structure to be fixed. Earlier this month, he hosted his own disabled golf event, the Kipp Popert World Invitational, at the London Golf Club in Kent. The best disabled golfers in the world arrived for the competition, and each player was paid £3,000.
Popert said: “Players at the highest level of any disabled sport should be being paid.” He added: “They’re not going to buy Ferraris, but it’s going to keep them in the sport, but also provide visibility to children and other people with disabilities.”
By the time Popert stood over his putts in Kitzbuhel, the stakes were clear. This was a debut on the DP World Tour—but it also carried the reality that. for golfers like him. the world doesn’t just pause the day after a decision is made. It pauses livelihoods, momentum, and training cycles. And for Popert. that tension is playing out in real time. from the first swing to the final putt—while the future of the G4D Tour is left to be rebuilt.
Kipp Popert DP World Tour Austrian Alpine Open G4D Tour Golf for the Disabled cerebral palsy golfer Sepp Straka Yanhan Zhou G4D Open G4D Ryder Cup EDGA R&A International Golf Federation Paralympics
Good for him but why is the G4D tour pausing like that? Seems messed up.
I saw something about “world No 1” and thought he won the whole DP World Tour immediately lol. Also cerebral palsy + DP Tour is wild, but I hope the postponement doesn’t mean they’re cutting support.
So does this mean G4D is done for good? Like they just said “indefinite” and then he goes to the main tour? Idk, sounds like someone messed up scheduling or funding. Either way he’s probably inspiring, even if the article is kinda all over the place.
Austrian Alps, DP World Tour, putts from 16th, birdies… okay but the part that stuck with me is the 3-over on the first nine and then that double bogey late. Like I feel that, that’s literally me on the local course. Really hoping the G4D pause isn’t because of politics or sponsors leaving, because that would be so unfair.