Lachlan Wood will be the lone Australian chasing glory at the fifth staging of the US Adaptive Open, returning to Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Maryland determined to defend his Lower Limb Impairment title while going one better in the Overall Men’s championship.
The US Adaptive Open returns to the same venue for a second straight year, with a field of 96 players aged between 15 and 76 competing across eight physical and intellectual impairment categories.
Beginning on Monday, July 6, the championship will be contested over 54 holes of stroke play to crown the Overall Men’s and Women’s champions, as well as winners in each impairment category.
Ranked No.3 in the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD), Wood produced one of the standout performances of last year’s championship, finishing at 12-under-par to win the Lower Limb Impairment division and tie for second overall alongside Korea’s World No.2 and reigning Australian All Abilities champion, Simon Seungmin Lee, who claimed the Intellectual Impairment title.
Both players finished well behind England’s World No.1 Kipp Popert, who secured his third consecutive US Adaptive Open title while competing in the Coordination Impairment category. Popert returns this week chasing a fourth straight crown, with Wood and Lee among those hoping to end his remarkable run.
“Looking forward to the second G4D Major of 2026 and giving my best to defend my LL (lower limb) category,” Wood wrote on Instagram.
“I’ll be the only Australian representing but looking forward to such a great event by the USGA.”
A promising junior golfer, Wood’s career was dramatically altered at age 16 when he suffered a devastating leg injury in a car accident, requiring more than 30 surgeries to save the limb.
After stepping away from the game for almost a decade, the 34-year-old returned to competitive golf and claimed the Australian All Abilities Championship in 2023.
He arrives in Maryland in strong form, recording top-five finishes in each of his past five G4D Tour starts, including three runner-up finishes and two third-place results.
Another familiar face to Australian golf fans is Ireland’s Brendan Lawlor, who finished fourth overall last year to win the Short Stature Impairment division.
Sponsored by ISPS HANDA, Lawlor teed it up on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia this year, competing in the inaugural Japan-Australasia Championship in New Zealand and the Heritage Classic in Victoria, before also playing the Vic Inclusive Championship.
In the women’s championship, defending champion Kim Moore returns alongside fellow Americans and former winners Bailey Bish and Ryanne Jackson. There are no Australians or New Zealanders in the women’s field.
Wood will begin his campaign at 8:06am local time on Monday (10:06pm AEST), playing alongside Popert, Moore and Sophie Howard in the opening round.
