rewrite this title 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 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 joins 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.

Speaking about the news in May, Popert said to the BBC: “I took it quite hard to be honest. It’s my livelihood, it’s how I’ve earnt my money for the last five years.”

The DP World Tour said in a statement that it would continue to hold discussions with the European Disabled Golf Association, the R&A and the International Golf Federation on a new schedule for the G4D Tour.

It added: “We are focusing on organising two major events that will provide the biggest platform for golfers with a disability. These are the annual G4D Open, run in partnership with the R&A, and a new G4D match at the 2027 Ryder Cup.

“We established the G4D Tour to grow participation and are proud of the fact that today, the numbers of golfers with a disability playing our sport competitively has grown significantly. G4D is now entering a new chapter with a wider range of stakeholders creating events.

“We will continue discussions with EDGA [European Disabled Golf Association], the IGF [International Golf Federation] and the R&A on a new structure that builds on the momentum generated by the G4D Tour and one that can ultimately realise the ambition of golf entering the Paralympics.”

Popert hosted his own disabled golf event, the Kipp Popert World Invitational, at the London Golf Club in Kent earlier this month. The best disabled golfers in the world arrived to feature in the event, with each player being paid £3,000.

Popert hosted his own tournament earlier this month in Kent that added: “Players at the highest level of any disabled sport should be being paid.

“They’re not going to buy Ferraris, but it’s going to keep them in the sport, but also provide visibility to children and other people with disabilities.”

Watch all four rounds of the Austrian Alpine Open live on Sky Sports. First round coverage commences on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Golf from 12pm on Thursday. Get Sky Sports or stream golf with no contract