Utah’s Max Togisala, the 2023 U.S. Adaptive Open – Seated Champion, will tee it up tomorrow at the USDGA Championship at PGA Golf Club’s Ryder Course in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The event will be played April 22-24.
The PGA of America is once again the presenting partner of the Championship, as the former U.S. Disabled Golf Open Championship officially launches its new name, the USDGA Championship.
The USDGA Championship will feature 90 players competing in a 54-hole, three-round stroke-play event beginning with the first round on Monday.
The USDGA’s mission is to provide people with physical, sensory and intellectual disabilities an opportunity to showcase their ability in a golf championship at a high level. Golfers must have a handicap index of 36.4 or lower and a WR4GD pass in order to register.
The 2023 USDGA Championship was won in May by Chad Pfeifer of Nampa, Idaho (Men’s) and Bailey Bish of Tucson, Arizona (Women’s). World Golf Hall of Fame Member and Honorary PGA of America Member Dennis Walters won the Seated Division, and Eliseo Villanueva of Fayetteville, North Carolina, won the Senior Division (50 and over).
Just 17 months after being paralyzed in a skiing accident, Togisala defeated Walters last year in the USGA’s U.S. Adaptive Open with a remarkable round of 2-under par 70 in the second round. Togisala closed with a final round of 80 and finished 18-strokes ahead of Walters. He placed in the top 20 overall in the national championship.
Locally, Togisala plays out of Valley View Golf Course in Layton. Togisala who last competed in this year’s Coral Canyon Amateur, uses a stand-on-command all-terrain mobility rider produced by VertiCat. Learn more about VertaCat by visiting, vertacat.com.
Designed by Tom Fazio, the Ryder Course at PGA Golf Club is named in honor of Samuel Ryder, the namesake and founder of the Ryder Cup. For more information on the USDGA Championship, please visit usdgagolf.org.