Ten of the world’s best golfers with a disability are set to tee it up at The Belfry Hotel & Resort for the G4D Tour @ Betfred British Masters, in the first of four events in a one-month span on the G4D Tour.
After a three-month break in the schedule, the G4D Tour returns with the first Net only event of the season, which will be held over 36 holes from August 18-19 on the famous Brabazon course.
Slovenian Marjan Gavez is set to make his first appearance on the G4D Tour and does so as the World Number One in the Net rankings.
Gavez, who is an above-knee amputee, hit the summit of the Net rankings earlier this year, and is hoping to use his debut on the G4D Tour as an opportunity to inspire others.
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“I am very excited about the first invitation to play in the G4D Tour @ Betfred British Masters,” he said.
“I hope that my achievements and progress can definitely inspire other players with a disability and can help them reach their potential. Golf has had a beneficial effect on my physical and mental health.
“I began playing the sport 15 years ago when I started playing golf by myself at the age of 40. Since then, I’ve always enjoyed having the chance to compete with others.”
Golf has had a beneficial effect on my physical and mental health
Gavez is one of five debutants in the field, which includes above-knee amputees Charles McClelland and Daniel Slabbert, along with Mark Clougherty, who has impaired muscle power, and Johnny Granberg, who underwent amputation on his left foot after being hit by a train in 2012.
France’s Alexia Girault sits three places behind Gavez in the Net rankings and will tee it up as one of two females in the field alongside England’s Aimi Louise Bullock.
Girault was 30 when she awoke paralysed due to a tumour in her spinal cord. Despite overcoming a balance problem and no sensation under the left knee, she has enjoyed success in G4D events, winning the RSM European Net Play-offs in September 2024, shortly before her G4D Tour debut in Andalucía.
“It's been a great year for me,” she said. “I can't wait to be at The Belfry.
“We obviously want to do well, but I'm going there with just the desire to experience an exceptional moment, which is always the case with this kind of event.
“Golf is a disabled-friendly sport, the ball is static, and it's magical to see people who think they can't play sport discover that golf is possible. For someone with a disability, golf allows you to meet people and it limits isolation.”
Completing the field are England’s Bradley Smith, Italian Davide Fasci and Argentinian Joshua Exequiel Riccardo.
Those in the field will be targeting a place in the season-ending G4D Tour @ Rolex Grand Final, taking place at Club de Golf Alcanada for the first time and comprising of a ten-player field that will include Gross and Net winners from the 2024-25 G4D Tour season. Six players will compete in the Gross competition, with four in the Net event.
The G4D Tour was launched in 2022 as a partnership between the DP World Tour and EDGA, formally the European Disabled Golf Association. The G4D player pathway aims to cater for everyone with a disability who wants to play golf, and for many, the G4D Tour is seen as the pinnacle of competition with competitors playing on the same course, in the same week, as the leading Tour professionals on the DP World Tour.
Due to the European Tour group’s ongoing financial support, EDGA has been able to raise awareness, confirm eligibility, organise tournaments, and deliver golf development and coach education worldwide.
