Kipp Popert: World's best disabled golfer makes DP World Tour debut at Austrian Alpine Open, after G4D Tour is put on ice

The world's best disabled golfer, Kipp Popert, has made his debut appearance on the DP World Tour, teeing up at the Austrian Alpine Open after the G4D (Golf for the Disabled) Tour was placed on hold.

The Englishman, who has cerebral palsy, is a 15-time winner on the G4D Tour, winning last year's G4D Tour Series Final at Club de Golf Alcanada in Mallorca.

Popert has achieved some huge milestones during his golfing career, notably being the first player to qualify to play in the R&A's Amateur Championship at Royal Lytham and St Annes in 2022.

Since then, he has risen to No 1 in the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability after winning four G4D events in 2025.

This week, Popert joined a packed field of players in Kitzbuhel, including hometown hero Sepp Straka and Englishmen James Morrison and Brandon Robinson-Thompson, with China's Yanhan Zhou setting the early pace after an eight-under 62 in the first round.

On a warm day in the Austrian Alps, Popert went three-over-par through his opening nine holes. He made the turn, and fought hard, coupling two birdies with two bogeys, before making a double-bogey, birdie and a bogey to end his first round with a five-over-par 75.

Popert impressed with his putter, first draining a long-range right-to-left swinging putt on the par-four 12th hole to post a birdie, before rolling another in from a similar distance on the 16th.

His 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.

But in April, it was announced that the G4D Tour, which hosts the world's best golfers with disabilities at a series of events all around the world, was set to be postponed for the foreseeable future.

The DP World Tour announced it will continue to host the annual G4D Open and a G4D Ryder Cup match between Team Europe and Team USA later this year.