Popert Extends Lead; Bish Still Holds Edge Heading into Final Round

For the second consecutive day at this U.S. Adaptive Open, an answer Kipp Popert gave in the interview room played itself out on the golf course.

On Monday, following his championship-record 65, Popert, who has cerebral palsy, outlined his thoughts going into the second round: “I know if you play this course and just play smart, you’re going to make a lot of birdies,” he said. “It’s keeping the bogeys off that’s my priority.”

Mission accomplished. Popert, 25, of England, fired a bogey-free, 6-under-par 66 to stand at 13-under 131 through 36 holes, six strokes clear of his nearest competitor, who happens to be his good friend and adaptive golf rival, Brendan Lawlor of Ireland. Lawlor, who was born with a rare bone disorder characterized by a shorter stature and short limbs, will be paired with Popert on Wednesday in the final group.

Popert, who won the overall men’s title in last year’s U.S. Adaptive Open at Pinehurst No. 6, carded four birdies and one eagle in the second round, shooting matching 33s on both nines at Sand Creek Station. Popert’s all-around game demonstrated why he came in as one of the pre-championship favorites.

“I played very solid; my short game was very good today,” said Popert. “I maybe didn’t hit as many greens as yesterday, but I pride myself on my short game, so it was good fun to have to need it.

“I love this. It’s why I’ve practiced for so many years since I was three or four years old. Yeah, I’m excited for tomorrow. I enjoy this more than anything.”

Yet even with Popert holding a commanding lead, there are still 18 holes to go on Wednesday. No one knows that better than Lawlor, who shot his own bogey-free round of 68 today to hold second place alone at 7-under 137. A little more than a year ago, Lawlor rallied to defeat Popert in the 2023 G4D Open in England.

“Yeah, Kipp was three ahead of me and I think we had nine holes to go,” said Lawlor about that championship. “I ended up winning by a shot. So, he gets me, I get him, he gets me. We flip.

“The pressure is on Kipp tomorrow, not me. I’m going to go out and play my game and try and chase it.”

Following her championship-best and personal-best round of 69 yesterday, Bailey Bish, 24, of Tucson, Ariz., came out today determined to hold her position, and she did just that. While Bish’s score was nine strokes higher than yesterday, she lost minimal ground and holds a five-shot advantage heading into Wednesday’s final round.

“Yesterday I had a great round and everything just seemed to be working well,” said Bish. “Today on the course everything was a little bit off. I was missing things a little left, a little right. I’ve been working with my optometrist to get my eyes really corrected and I ended up putting my special lenses on in the middle of the round, which helped me readjust and I was able to really come back and improve my putting.”

Bish, who has dystonia, a neurological movement disorder that causes involuntary muscle contractions, made her debut in this championship in 2023 and is looking forward to the challenge of bringing home a USGA championship trophy.

“I don't really feel nerves,” she said. “I feel excitement, and just taking it one shot at a time and playing from point A allows me to deal with whatever happens and not get too emotionally invested in the outcome.”

Defending overall women’s champion Ryanne Jackson (neurological impairment), of Seminole, Fla., shot a 77 on Tuesday to hold second place alone, five strokes behind Bish. Jackson will be paired with Bish in the final female grouping. For the first time, a cut was made after 36 holes, allowing final-round play to be in groups of two players rather than four.

“I think it's a really exciting addition to this championship,” said Jackson. “I feel like adding a cut makes it closer to other USGA championships. So I think it’s cool seeing the Adaptive Open becoming more like all the other USGA events that are being played.”

Forty-five players made the cut, which came at 6-over-par 146 for the men and 24-over-par 168 for the women. In addition, the top three players from each men’s impairment category, and the top two players from each women’s impairment category, made the cut.

In third place on the men’s side is Simon Lee of Korea, the 2022 overall men’s U.S. Adaptive Open champion. Lee followed up his first-round 68 with a 2-under 70 on Tuesday. He knows he needs to go extra low on Wednesday if he has any hope of putting pressure on Popert.

“Tomorrow I’m going to attack and hit driver on every hole,” said Lee. “Yeah, and make a lot of birdies. That’s the strategy for tomorrow.”

In addition to the overall men’s and women’s champions, the winners of each of the eight impairment categories for both men and women will receive medals. Golf Channel will provide highlights, live look-ins, interviews and analysis from reporter Andy Stevenson on Golf Today (1-3 p.m. ET) and Golf Central (5-6 p.m. ET) during Wednesday’s final round.

What’s Next

The final round will take place on Wednesday, with tee times again beginning at 7:30 a.m. Players will start from the first and 10th tees in groups of two.

Notable

For the second consecutive day, Kipp Popert played the par-5 16th and par-3 17th holes in five strokes combined, going eagle-birdie.  

Brendan Lawlor’s four birdies in the second round all came via approach shots that finished six feet or less from the hole.

Jack Bonifant, 34, of Kensington, Md., made the biggest move up the men’s overall leader board today, improving his position by 25 places. Bonifant, who plays with a neurological impairment, shot a 2-under 70 following a first-round 79 to stand in a tie for 17th place.

On the women’s side, Natasha Stasiuk of Canada, who plays with an intellectual impairment, improved by five places to move into a tie for 7th and make the cut. Stasiuk has played in this championship each of the last two years.

Summer temperatures in Kansas routinely reach into the 90s and even the 100s, but the competitors are enjoying much more moderate conditions with this week. Today’s high in Newton was 87, with breezy conditions that impacted the difficulty of the course but also provided a cooling effect.

Quotable

“I got very lucky last year having the chance to chat with Novak Djokovic, so I got a few techniques off him and that’s been helpful. I’m just a sponge. I try and learn as best I can and do as best as I can and it’s holding me in good stead.” – Kipp Popert (neurological impairment), 25, Republic of Ireland; second-round 66

“Off the tee I feel like the course is incredibly challenging. The wind definitely picked up probably midway through my first nine holes. A couple of the greens are very elevated and so adding the wind factor into it makes it a lot more difficult.” – Ryanne Jackson (neurological impairment), 26, Seminole, Fla., second-round 77

“Yeah, so they’re called Syntonic lenses and I usually put them on not while I am playing but either before rounds, or in the middle of it. They help rebalance the brain and make it so what I'm actually seeing is what my brain is processing.” – Bailey Bish (neurological impairment), 24, Tucson, Ariz.; second-round 78

“If I can get off on a run pretty early tomorrow and put a bit of pressure on, hopefully I can run down Kipp a wee bit. If I can go 3- or 4-under after the first six or seven holes, put a bit of pressure on, anything can happen.” – Brendan Lawlor (short stature), 32, of Republic of Ireland; second-round 68