U.S. Adaptive Open Categorizes Players by Impairment to Ensure Equitable Competition

Golf evaluates players solely on their ability to execute in the moment, measuring adaptability and resolve without regard for background or circumstance. That principle guides the competitive structure of the U.S. Adaptive Open Championship, held this year at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md., from July 6–8, where players are grouped among their peers and outcomes are determined by performance.

The USGA accepts hundreds of applications annually from around the world. In 2024, the association introduced U.S. qualifying events to provide an additional pathway to the championship. Eligibility is verified by medical assessors who issue a WR4GD Pass, aligned with International Paralympic Committee standards.

The USGA employs eight distinct impairment categories to compose the 96-player field of professionals and amateurs. In collaboration with medical assessors from the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, the organization ensures appropriate tee placements and hole locations for each category. Prizes are awarded within each category, along with overall men’s and women’s champions:

Coordination Impairment: Players have movement disorders affecting the central nervous system’s structure and function.

Intellectual Impairment: Players have a restriction of general mental functions. Requires a WR4GD Pass and Virtus II1 eligibility.

Lower Limb Impairment: Players have impairments affecting the leg, hip, and/or spine.

Multiple Limb Amputee: Includes players with limb deficiency in more than one limb.

Seated Players: Players who make every stroke from a seated position because their impairment necessitates it.

Short Stature: Players have reduced height due to congenitally or developmentally reduced bone length in the upper and lower limbs, and may also have reduced trunk length.

Upper Limb Impairment: Players have impairments affecting the arm, shoulder, and/or spine.

Vision Impairment: Players have reduced or no visual function even with the best possible refractive or optical correction.

Now in its fifth year, the championship uses these categories to create equity, bringing players together for meaningful competition where results are decided by performance, not circumstance.

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