US Adaptive Open golf tournament held at Rockville country club
US Adaptive Open golf tournament held at Rockville country club
The DMV has a history of hosting big golf tournaments but this week, one was held in Rockville that we?ve never seen. The U.S. Adaptive Open wrapped up at Woodmont Country Club on Wednesday.
WASHINGTON - The DMV has a history of hosting big golf tournaments but this week, one was held in Rockville that we’ve never seen.
The U.S. Adaptive Open wrapped up at Woodmont Country Club on Wednesday. It’s the biggest championship for golfers with disabilities.
What we know:
Golf, at it’s core, is a game of measurements. What’s the distance on this shot? How will the wind impact the ball flight? How hard do I have to hit it?
But the saying goes that the most important six or so inches on the course are between the golfer’s ears.
The 4th ever U.S. Adaptive Open at Woodmont Country Club.
Nearly 100 men and women compete in eight categories, including lower limb and vision impairment, short stature, intellectual impairment and multiple limb amputee.
What they're saying:
Fourteen years ago in Afghanistan, Marine Nick Kimmel fell onto an improvised explosive device (IED).
"That took both my legs above the knee and my left arm above the elbow," said Nick Kimmel.
He stopped playing golf, then fell back in love with the sport. Now, he plays adaptive golf competitively all over the country.
Ann Duffy is from Illinois, here cheering on her son Thomas, who’s been paralyzed from the chest down since he was nine. He plays in the Seated category.
She’s grateful the United States Golf Association does this.
"It just gives them an opportunity in a stage that things can be done with disabilities, and the USGA and Woodmont have given us. It’s just been an awesome experience," Duffy said.
The competition demands an athlete’s best, and the physical demands on these athletes are great.
FOX 5 asked Kimmel how he stays mentally tough. His answer was that it’s good for golf, and life.
"I’m just pushing forward. It is what it is, and you can’t change the past. You can’t change a bad swing, you can’t change the fact that I got injured. I would do it all over again, and I think everyone keeps going out there. You could have a really, really, really bad round, and you keep going out the next day," said Kimmel, who came to the DMV from California.
Big picture view:
The six inches between these golfers' ears are tough. But in a game of measurements—good luck figuring out the size of these hearts.
Woodmont Country Club will also host next year’s tournament.
Earlier this week, the director of golf here told the Golf Channel that many members told him this is the best thing the club has ever done.