The inaugural Chicago Adaptive Open will feature the world’s top adaptive golfers competing on Cog Hill Golf & Country Club’s Course No. 3, June 29-30.
For more information:
https://www.cdga.org/golf-competitions/golf-info.asp?id=1013
Live Stream Broadcast available on the 30th at 1pm central.
e e e e e e e eight six five welcome everyone to college golf Network’s live production of the 2024 inaugural Chicago adaptive open we are here in Lamont Illinois it is a sunny beautiful rare cool Chicago day uh my name is Mike minahan thank you for joining me Dan ran Chicago icon pleasure to be here with you today don’t know about the icon stuff but it’s great to be with you guys on college golf Network and this collaboration between the Chicago District Golf Association and the United States adaptive golf Alliance we look forward to a great day today should be a lot of fun plenty of camaraderie and competition and we’ll get to all that in just a couple of minutes uh the course in which the tournament is being played is course number three here at Cog Hill in Lamont uh opened up back in 1963 a lot of fun to play as our all four tracks here at Cog those are the yardages for today they will vary depending on the disability of the individual players we’re going from somewhere around 6,000 yards uh to about 4,800 yards from the gold teas we’ll get out there and we’re going to talk uh mostly about holes number 16 and number 18 today more on those in just a second uh the Chicago adaptive open weekend kicked off with a special event at Midwest golf house on Friday celebrating the 110th anniversary of the cdga and the 80th anniversary of the cdga foundation as well as the unveiling of the hansburg Heritage collection at Midwest Golf House created thanks to equipment and monetary donations from Gary hansberger of ram golf the new display cases feature a journey through golf equipment innovation in Chicago and there’s been plenty of that the evening also featured a trickshot show from adaptive golf icon Dennis Walters I was fortunate enough to be the MC for the event and it was really a lot of fun for everybody we also got a drop in from two-time US Open winner Andy North who donated a club from his 19 67 cdga Junior match play championship title to become part of that Heritage collection and we’ll hear more from Addy North as the afternoon rolls on yep and we here we are live on ho 16 a par three overwater here Dan um first we’d like to let the viewers know that Jersey Mike has been uh proud enough to sponsor this this hole um the Chicago dective open has partnered with Jersey miks in creating a $10,000 split the pot Challenge on whole 16 if a player makes a hole in one they will take home $5,000 and another $5,000 will be donated in their name to the cdja foundations helping to support adaptive golf super cool Jersey miks I’m my name is Mike but they make good Subs so um I like it you know 16 is a par three sandwich between a couple of par fives on this layout it can play as long as 200 yards that that t is further screen left than what you’re looking at now they have shortened the hole somewhat for the field this weekend but they also moved the te to the right and made them hit it over the pond so it’s a little bit tougher the green is two tiered the pin is set right in the front uh that should roll from right to left as the golfers look at it and in terms of being advantageous for a potential hole-in-one Mike you couldn’t put the pin in a better place than it is today no you cannot and you can see the wind blowing that flag in the right direction for a front right pin and I I think we’re going to see a lot of shots close and it looks like anything that finds that front portion of that green is going to funnel toward the pin um you can see in the aerial view here um pins in a slightly different location than uh what you’re seeing but like you said it’s it’s going to funnel and hopefully we’ll see a hole inone especially for the sake of the the $5,000 going home but super exciting either way certainly possible for a golfer shot to to catch that Ridge that’s behind the pin and move it down and back toward the pin so uh there’s a lot that can happen on this screen there’s a lot in it and it should be a lot of fun to watch this afternoon yep yeah that’s that’s one of the beautiful things about golf Dan I think is um once you hit that ball you don’t have any control of it so anything on the green has a chance that’s right when it’s gone it’s gone and we’re just moving our opening groups through 16 uh we’ll be talking to some of the players as we move along and as you look at the bottom of the screen uh we will have a leaderboard there but you also will have a chance to see uh all of the 15 or 16 I guess it is different classifications of disability that are represented in the tournament this weekend uh men’s G two leg impairment below the knee you’ll see some players uh with that uh there are a lot of other ones as well and uh that’ll give you an idea of what some of these players are facing as they take on a golf game that’s not easy for able-bodied people uh but they’ve certainly found their niche in in this Chicago adaptive open and it’s going to be a lot of fun to watch today no doubt Dan I I think it’s awesome what the CDJ is doing here and getting involved in adaptive Golf and hosting this EV it’s such a historic golf course I think it’s just awesome for everyone involved so as you can see here we’re just tuning in with our 1010 group that is uh looks like they’re making their way up to the green here um Vince Biser Alan Gentry and Xander do um these gentlemen are getting ready to Chip and Putt it looks like here Dan so no hole in one in this group but we’ve got plenty more to go so that’s for sure yeah and despite maybe not being a hole in one at with the pin it would be advantageous either way so we might see some long putts hold maybe um some chips that are hold um you know in case there’s not a hole in one we’ll still see some some shots finding the green there and making their way toward that hole yeah I can tell you from my own experience that anybody who gets up on that the upper deck behind the pin is in for a little bit of an adventure that’s always fun golf is full of those so we’ve got one coming in from amongst the trees left of the green here time to see where that ball wound up there it is you saw it catch the Ridge and wind up on The Fringe that’s pretty good shot from over there yeah especially with the wind being at his back I don’t think a lot of people realize how much the the wind can really affect a short game shot just in my playing experience man um being downwind or into the wind can really affect a a higher trajectory wed shot birdie putt here that will be a tap in par yep well done there and I’m thinking we have another birdie putt on the way here and I believe this is Xander dolu about to putt an interesting guy one of the uh great stories in the field Mike right yes phenomenal story U about Xander um just a couple fun facts about Xander that he he shared with us um his dream for some is Tiger Bryon and his son I think that’s a pretty cool uh pretty cool you know for some especially for someone to play with one of those guys and um yeah he also shared with us you know a unique unique story um and you know how he kind of got into golf um he said that his dad got him into golf as a kid um and by the time he was 12 he thought he’d have a career playing golf on the PGA tour he’s been playing golf his entire life um he unfortunately uh lost one of his arms at the age of 20 in 2009 in a motor vehicle accident and so that that’s what led him into the Adaptive community and you I think that’s pretty cool that’s you know I I think some people obviously we’ve learned that you know they they maybe they didn’t play golf and you know they uh you know find golf you know through the Adaptive channels and they didn’t play golf before you know that they were playing the Adaptive but you have people that uh you know were big golfers before and now they’re they’re finding a way to play golf again and I think that’s pretty cool but for hard and how about that one so our opening group comes through 16 that is awesome that’s right three pars nice work there yeah you know a lot of these competitors were athletes in different sports too not necessarily golf but uh once they were injured or became ill or uh were unable to play the sport that they were originally competing in uh they turned to golf and there are more than one uh more than one player in this field that says golf actually saved their lives because they really didn’t know where to turn and we very discouraged and depressed and wound up finding golf as an alternative as an outlet and it’s really worked out uh to their advantage and you’re going to see a lot of those players on this course here at Cog Hill definitely yeah I think I think that’s beautiful I mean we we don’t know what Nature has in store for us um but you know I think every every joint in the human body is capable of motion Dan I think it’s just really inspiring to be able to see these players you know quite literally adapt to their um you know their body and and uh figure out a way to swing the golf club to get the ball in the hole I mean we just saw you know all those pars made and that up and down was world class I mean it was you know you have your own story and we we talked about it uh a little bit ago you should share that with the audience um Mike was a college golfer at Old Dominion and was unable to finish his career because of uh an injury that he suffered yes sir Dan yeah thank you for mentioning that I feel like I can I can relate to um you know some of the players in the field and offer unique perspective um yeah I did I I played uh three semesters at Old Dominion before I ultimately had um hip surgery and then groin surgery uh another year and a half later on the same side so definitely um you know impaired my ability to to to play competitively um I was very competitive obviously a division one golfer I played golf every day um and so you know doing that was I I dealt with you know a lot of frustration I can only you know it makes me it makes me feel ungrateful looking back after you know seeing some of the players here that you know you know maybe they don’t have a limb or maybe they don’t have um you know hand or other you know impairments where you know I I’m a little I’m pretty sore after the round and I you know I have to you know ride in a cart I can’t walk um 18 without it you know being extremely painful so um and I can’t compete but you know I can still go out there and play and enjoy myself and and stuff like that but um yeah I can definitely understand that and I think uh you know it’s interesting some of the people we’ve seen out here today are are the happiest most positive people that you’ll meet and you know they obviously you know in theory have a reason maybe to not be so happy and then some of the rest of us have you know anything we could ever want and you know we still find ways to be upset so I think um that just being here and being around it offers a a really unique perspective and um just makes me I feel grateful and inspired just to be able to be a part of this yeah I mean it really speaks to your love of the game I mean you’re broadcasting get a chance to play every couple of weeks or so and and still able to get out there uh as you said very thankful for that and I’m sure uh the entire field here in Chicago this weekend feels the same way yeah definitely I think it’s it’s so cool just you know golf bringing people together from all different backgrounds and life stories and um you know human bodies it doesn’t matter everyone is different but you know finding that love and enjoyment for the game I think is just what brings us all together and that’s why we love it that’s why we’re watching it like you said that’s why I broadcast it that’s why I you know part of college golf Network I I can’t get enough of it and if that day means I’m not going to be out on the golf course I’m still you know I want to do everything I can to be a part of it so it’s phenomenal yeah and so we’re just waiting for the next group to make the te the event began yesterday with a specialty first ceremony first te ceremony Excuse Me featuring Cog Hill Golf and Country Club Icon icon Frank J and hural Chicago adaptive open and an icon in the Chicago Community please welcome Mr Frank gemc please help me welcome Mr Andy north thank you thanks appreciate it this is a pleasure to be here uh the first Chicago adaptive open is really a special thing I mean what what we’re going to see today the quality of play uh amazing things that these these folks are doing today and and we’ve got three Superstars to start out [Music] all right and we are back here on the 16th T overlooking that beautiful Pond there here just waiting for the next group to make their way right here that’s going to be the 10:20 a.m. start time Henry steinen step Briggs and Kevin Holland should be here shortly as we mentioned course three here is only part of the four courses at Cog Hill uh the jumps SEC family is really the name in public golf here in Chicago running uh four courses here a couple of courses at St Andrews and another one up at Pine Meadow in the northern suburbs as well as a course uh in Suburban Atlanta so the gem sex are a very busy crew and it’s terrific that they were able to to figure out a way to uh get the tournament here uh into their course number three and we’ll talk more about the reasons for course 3 as we move along this afternoon but uh there has been some thought given uh to why this course and not one of the other three and we’ll talk more about that in a little bit as we wait for the next crew to come through here at 16 a little more information about the 2024 Chicago adaptive open again course three here at Cog Hill uh the world’s best adaptive golfers it’s become quite a circuit for these players there’s a purse of $155,000 as we mentioned 16 different sports classifications are represented here and I should point out uh thanks to a cdga member who would just assume not have his name publicized but a great philanthropy th IST uh made a donation that covered every player’s entry fee so when the players registered they were given a card that said guess what your entry fee is coming back your way thanks to this uh cdga member and we certainly appreciate him and all he’s done for the game of golf and what he’s done this weekend to help these players out wow yeah that’s awesome that must have been really cool to to arrive here and find out your entry fees paid for Dan not bad that’s not bad at all all right we’re here back live on the 16th T here is Henry sankin I’m not sure I’d want to take that task on right there no it’s it is an in intimidating t-shot yeah Dan I’m not sure I want to take that on with any amount of arms to be honest I uh should point out that when we play this golf course in the fall or it should say in the spring sometimes early March we don’t worry about the pond because it’s frozen over you can skip it right across the water and not have a problem at all that’s awesome yep it is a little warmer out today but still it’s a nice change of pace I think I know it’s been hot here Dan you’re been here local in Chicago I’ve been a little bit all over but today I I’m wearing pants for the first time and I don’t know when yeah it’s kind of shocking actually it was 90 degrees yesterday and probably a little uncomfortable for some of the players but uh we had a front go through overnight and without a storm which is kind of a shock for this part of the country and it’s just turned into the same day as yesterday only 20° cooler which is fantastic for everybody I think definitely yep we’re here with Steven BRS on the te last Kevin how Kevin not exactly sure where that wound up we’ll find out once the crew gets up to the green looks like it’s headed a little bit yeah get the pointer out a little bit left after the up and down we saw from the first group I think anything’s possible on this hole yeah no doubt I think you know with that Ridge and the slope there we could see some you know potential chip or pitchin and whether they’re in the trees or just short there were some terrific scores shut yesterday um by a lot of different players you know it you see some of the disabilities that are on display here and you wonder you know how these people could break a hundred or break 90 or whatever well we had a 72 yesterday and a couple of 73s and um yeah we even have a gentleman this morning Dan who’s um he’s two under through six two under on the round so that’s just some phenomenal golf Jared folz um looks like from Queen Creek Arizona 2008 through six so he’s off to a hot start and shot of 77 yesterday which is still you know very good yeah he’s in very good shape fortunately I didn’t get a m or unfortunately we’re getting a r here yep so it looks like Mr Steven Briggs his first shot did not clear the water so he’s going to be ring here which I’m sure it’ll be a common occurrence today here watching this Dan I mean this is just a a tough t- shot it is good swing little cut swing right there I think and it appears to be just a little bit short and left of the putting surface so uh up and down there and try to salvage a five all right and while we’re waiting for these gentlemen to make their way to the tea we’re going to go to our next advertisement here J is it was allowing me to be able to track how good of a golfer I was becoming the game of golf itself has zero boundaries I think the cdga gives you a global perspective on the game of golf um but it’s also allowed me to be able to connect with people and play golf against anybody we are better through golf you know Mike I played in an event last summer with Robbie Gold who’s only one of the most accurate place kickers in the history of the NFL and so we came to a shorter part three about 125 yards and Robbie knocked it up in the air with a wedge and knocked it right in the hole for an ace wow it was his first ever that’s awesome and he said at the time and he may want to backtrack on that comment a bit but he said it was better than any game winning kick that he ever made wow that’s pretty cool I think it really was gosh I’ve only I’ve made one ace myself but I I really think that I was more excited uh witnessing an ace I was in a group in a tournament with a A buddy of mine and he had made a hole in one and I we jumped up and down and we’re hugging each other and it was just it’s such a cool experience and um yeah I think I had more fun watching him make one to be honest it was it’s awesome well there’s that shot that we were talking about you get a ball up on the top of that upper tier there and having to come back down that slope at a very challenging putt from up there so we’ll see how that one works out yep a two putt there for would be good you take that every day of the week you know Dan I find it uh really fascinating and also amazing how many different sport classifications there are yeah you know it’s true you see players with uh uh Prosthetics uh people that uh don’t use Prosthetics uh people that have a different kind of disabilities the largest class of competitors this week uh is among those who have cerebral paly I think there are seven or nine people in that classification uh I had the pleasure of having dinner Friday night with one of the competitors and uh he was talking about uh try to win the thing and he said you know I think I have a chance because I’m playing from 4,800 yards he said if I had to play from 6,000 yards he said I don’t know if I’d have a chance but uh that’s uh kind of the way this thing is set up to make things a little more fair for everybody and um he was hoping to have a big weekend this weekend I’m not sure exactly how things have turned out for him he his classification uh has some players who can really play so it’s h it’s one of the tougher ones and as I said one of the bigger ones out here yeah and that’s that’s another thing we haven’t really touched on I know we’ve been we’ve been talking about you know just how awesome the event is and the opportunity it gives everyone but um you know especially for people that are competitive like this is a chance to be able to you know to compete and and get that competitive Spirit up and um you know like you said like people out here enjoying themselves like that’s awesome but you know if you also want to compete you can do that too and I think I think that’s really cool well we have some of the best players uh adaptive players in the world out here male and female Ryan Jackson who played Collegiate golf at Eastern Illinois University uh is the low scorer so far she shot 72 yesterday with a double a late double on the back nine so wow she knows what she’s doing out there she teed off in one of the later groups so it’ll be a bit before uh we see Ryan but we’re looking forward to it she has a great backstory too um diagnosed as a Collegiate player at Eastern Illinois um anxious to ask her how she wound up at Eastern Illinois being a lifelong Floridian and moved back to Florida after school but uh she’s a player and uh she’ll be one to look forward to seeing a little bit later definitely yeah it looks like she teed off at 1210 Dan so we should see here see her definitely toward the end of the broadcast this afternoon but should break left to right and did that green running out uh pretty well that was uh quite quick coming down that slope and that’s a pretty lengthy one coming back y this one on the way up the hill sliding little right there and just a little short and low it is hard hard left to right from down there see if we can finish this one up well done there yeah and he’s kind of putting with the shadow in there I don’t know about you Dan but in all my years of of putting and playing competitive golf I I never liked it when the the shadow was over the hole and and not over the ball I didn’t mind it over the ball but whenever the shadow was over the hole I something about it I think putting is hard enough under any circumstances it is for me anyway looks like he kept the pace up the hill but looked like it was just not quite enough so tap in there that’s uh I believe a bogey good base there wide putting stance and a good putt too good two putt there well done all right making their way up to the T here in the 1030 group we’ve got Joshua tankersley Ronald Johnston and Tim Haley and it looks like Mr tankers Lee here is making his way to the tea Josh from Bridgeport Texas likes to play tennis with his son when he’s not on the golf course came up just a little bit short but that’s in the first cut shouldn’t be too much of a problem to make a three or maybe he’ll be able to run one in all right now Tim Haley now making his way to the te’s looks like he’s got a a hybrid there Dan good contact got that one up in the air nicely didn’t look like he was thrilled with it and uh missed it just a little bit to the right yeah that’s going to come up a little bit short right there um not a ton of green to work with but looks like the LIE is favorable um rounding the group here uh Ron Johnston and Ron is from Chicago Illinois so that’s pretty cool getting to play in his hometown Hometown or Carol Stream I believe that one is headed to the bottom of the pond ah going to be a popular spot that’s for sure plays his golf around Chicago at Old Wayne which is up in the northern suburbs low round of 71 up there his dream force him as any force from that he’s in he says good for him well we’ve talked about the Cog Hill property and a little bit about the gemc family uh certainly Frank gemc uh is the patriarch of public golf here in the Chicago area as we mentioned seven golf courses under the gemc umbrella in the area for them here at Cog Hill uh a great supporter of adaptive Golf and I talked with Frank earlier this morning about uh how Cog got involved uh with this particular tournament we just want to talk to you a little bit about how things progressed here and uh how the tournament got to cogill in the first place Chicago District Golf Association called us and said we needed their they needed their help to run a tournament Chicago adaptive open and they do more good for golf in the midwest than any organization there is so we said yes and we were quite pleased what’s been your favorite part so far how how good the handicap players hit the ball how how excited they are to be playing and all the volunteers that volunteered to help run the tournament for free and how happy they are to be doing it and just there’s just a joy to be it’s a fun group obviously you have four golf courses here uh they chose number three to hold the tournament why number three it has the hand traps that are e easiest to get out of in fact actually what they had to do on some of the sand traps they had to put some ramps in the traps so that the handicap the the vehicles that these guys are riding can get into the sand TR traps I can speak for all the able-bodied golfers none of the sand traps are easy to get out [Laughter] of that’s one thing about Cog Hill Mike they have plenty of sand out here uh the big course the championship course dubs dread has just been redone by another of the gem 6 Joey uh they redid most of the bunkering and and redid a couple of the greens and it looks phenomenal uh one of the best golf courses certainly one of the best courses and one of the best courses overall in this area yeah and I can see why just watching it here I’m in the booth with you I I can see why it’s so beautiful and uh I know you get to play out here quite often Dan right even have a tea time tomorrow morning is that correct actually I do yeah um and Frank is he’s so modest and it it runs throughout the whole family but uh in terms of adaptive golf there wasn’t much happening in Chicago and he facilitated um one player who was really struggling with his life having lost some limbs to a disease and and he got that guy back on track with the help of some other friends and um that’s all part of it too you know there’s so much camaraderie in this game not just an Adaptive golf but throughout Golf and people are more than willing to jump up and help other people and that’s kind of what happened for this man and it really as we said about a couple of other people that’s almost saved his life uh had no interest in doing much of anything except playing golf couldn’t figure out a way to do it and finally they figured out a way to make him play and uh a story with a happy ending as so many of these are today yeah that’s awesome and it’s really cool to see the gem 6 family’s commitment to you know Cog to Adaptive golf golf and like you said everything that comes with that the camaraderie the relationship building um and really just the overall you know Improvement of everyone’s life I think no junior golf is a big thing around here too and and the Junior League PGA Junior League team here at Cog has qualified for the Nationals for about the last five straight years so wow there are a lot of good young players hanging around here too all right so he’s going to tap that one it looks like yep clean that up well done you don’t see that on the tour do you guys fist bumping each other as they walk off the green that’s the kind of stuff that uh you see in events like this and that’s really a great thing there’s our first look at number 18 uh the finishing hole here in course three which is a par 4 and again the yardages will vary depending on the Imp impairment of each of the individual players uh the key to this hole is leaving your approach shut beneath the hole because this green is very narrow and it slop severely from front to back so if you get Crossways on this green you might have a putt that breaks two or three feet wow beautiful swing it’s a beautiful looking hole too from that angle with the sky the clouds the trees I probably shouldn’t mention this for fear of jinxing somebody but there is a little Pond to the left of the Fairway as you get closer up to the green so you’d have to really pound one I think to reach it from these t- boxes but uh it’s probably doable for some of these players yep and here we can see exactly what you’re were talking about Dan card path along the right side uh there’s the trees and you can see the pond well bunkered on each side there is a generous runup area here but once you get to the green that’s where the fun really starts it’s kind of hard to tell from the aerial shut but there is a huge slope from the back of this green to the front get a better idea of it right there you can see a little bit right there yep and I think we you mentioned it earlier we touch on it later but that just reminded me when we saw the the Drone flying up the the hole there and the car path so close to the hole I think you know that’s got to be something that’s part of what makes this such a great venue for adaptive an Adaptive event like this just making it you know so convenient to be able to access you know access the hole and um keep the pace of play up good for us short hitters too because you aim for that cart path maybe pick up an extra 20 yards or so yeah as if any of us are good enough to hit the cart path now we are afraid we splashed another one there I see some ripples there yep and that was Mr Marcus Pierce yep rounding out the group here Dennis Gearhart we hope to hear from Marcus Pierce a little bit later on he’s kind of a renaissance man in this Crew He hangs out with his dogs he’s got an Adaptive golf podcast that he runs uh big interest in music he said I don’t use a prosthetic I hop as you saw back there and he hit said pretty darn well lost his leg after uh being diagnosed with cancer several years back he’s one of the men uh Mike who said I tried golf on one leg because I had to have something to do with my life he said I fell in love with it and it probably saved his life all right we’re back here on 18 over in the Shamrock clovers looks like but nice angle lot of clover over there this is the right rough so he’s coming back across the heart path uh pretty tough shot lot of bunkering up there again beautiful swing yeah perfectly on plane incredible wow look at that oh my goodness how about that shot he almost made that that is fantastic uh that’s going to be a pretty easy birdie what a way to finish out your day huh wow that’s unbelievable yeah you can tell that he played golf but you know for a long time now that was not an accident and pretty happy about it too if my information is correct here that would be uh our buddy Xander dobru yep yes sir this one coming in from the Fairway got a couple on the green already and another very good shot that one will have a lot of break in it I don’t think Xander is gonna have to worry about break where he is no it’s nice to see the pin surrounded like that though and one below the hole which is probably the uh prudent place to leave your shot on this green man that was an awesome shot back to 16 I believe that’s a ret for Marcus Pierce yep it looks like it skipped across the water hit the bank and can’t quite tell if that found its way in the drink or if it’s just sitting up you have young eyes Mike I could not see that golf ball for anything all right back on 18 here it’s always nice to strut your way up to being the first one to mark that ball and last to putt isn’t it yeah take your time the other guys will wait for you yep they got to read their put you can take as long as you want to Market jealousy what a great way to finish too it’s always it’s always nice not having just you know from a competitive golfer side if you have a you know a rather short putt or um you know you play the 18th well and it’s nice to to have a strong finish to the round all right so they’re reading their putts here um first one to play looks like it’s going to be a little bit down the hill a little downhill and and very much across that slope so you’re going to see a lot of break in this one he going to take a peek at it from a couple of different angles here and try to get this figured out and I know we didn’t talk to the superintendent this morning Dan but the greens look like they’re rolling um pretty quick out here um I would guess you know around 10 or so 10 and a half I think that’s about what they are yeah the the couple of putts we saw on 16 were down the slope which made it obviously a little quicker but yeah I think 10 or 10 and a half is about right nice put there it’s following the break go ball wow Beauty well these guys own 18 how about that that was center cut too that never left the hole beautiful putt this wow the high five look at that that is awesome well this has to go in doesn’t it yeah I mean come on he might be the odd man out with do bre so close with his third oh a little more Pace he might have had it yeah looked like going be on a good line but I think that that Hill is definitely slopes that green like you said that green slopes a lot more than you can really back to front than you can see from here yeah it’s going to be very slow coming uh from lower to higher but yep all right we already gave Xander this putt didn’t we I think we did yes he better not miss it the shot of the day so far and he pays it off with a birdie so never doubt two birdies in a par in this group that’s not bad that’s not the easiest hole on this golf course I can tell you that well done phenomenal oh that’s awesome to see the handshakes the camaraderie all right now back out to 16 short sided over there behind that pond that’s a that’s a tough Chip Shot from there yep it looked like I believe it was Dennis Gearhart um in the American flag shorts it looked like got it on the green got a chance for par yep sometimes it’s all you can ask for it’s a putt at it for doesn’t appear that he lost his turn no this one’s going to be sliding like you said that Ridge is right there yep a little bit left to right and down the hill yep really that is quick isn’t it very quick really release past the hole Brian Warner next to putt yep he’s respecting the break the ridge wow he hard to missed that putt high but that’s still a good putt that was a really good putt if he had just a slight bit less Pace on that thing it would have gone in really good putt good read yep and he’s rocking the bucket hat out there today not a bad idea lot of sunshine at Cog Hill this afternoon all right Dennis here trying to make the comebacker oh got a piece Marcus Pierce getting ready to clean up his putt here he got it up there close Marcus from Marshall Wisconsin he was on the winning Phoenix Cup team against Europe in 2023 that’s uh the Adaptive version of the Ryder Cup wow so this is not his first rodeo no he he’s uh he’s all over the place this guy very interesting dude and pretty darn good player that put was about two feet it broke about eight inches yeah holy cow really nicely done I was wondering why he was spending so much time reading it but that’s why holy cow bang it hard straight in the back beautiful nicely done all right good work by that crew yep we’re coming up here are these jents making their way to the next and now please enjoy a word from the cdga a a story about a father sharing a game that he loves or a mom that she loves and sharing that with somebody in this case their child with a disability not knowing if they’re able to do that and then seeing the joy that they’re able to experience through that shared experience is it’s a gift to to be a witness to that all right we’re back here um after that word from the cdga and yeah I know we’re going to talk to them a lot you know later and talk about it and we’re obviously here um and we’ll hear from Tim here soon the senior communications director but I think it’s just phenomenal what the cdga is doing and getting involved in you know the Adaptive community and um you know I know the first US adaptive usj event was in 2022 Dan um so it’s really cool now to see you know different states different associations um you know all around the country you know putting out events now the headquarters of the alliance is about to move into the Midwest golf house across the street here from Cog Hill so uh the uh involvement with the cdga and adaptive golf is only going to get bigger as time goes on definitely and I can see why I mean everyone here has been super professional and um you know just very hospitable that’s a heck of a shot right there this is our first look at the uptas uh this is a tusum here Alexander Han and Justin Miller Yep looks like Alexander Han Jr was first to play um and Justin Miller is following him here there are several golfers in the field uh who don’t have the use of their legs and this is how they go about it they just swivel the chair uh into swinging position and swing basically with their upper bodies one of those uh players in the group uh not this group but one coming up soon is Dennis Walters who’s uh iconic in adaptive golf has a trick show that he’s been doing for years and years has performed he said more than 20 times with Tiger Woods at various events and and uh his show on Friday night as he stood out there in the pouring rain uh was phenomenal really fun to watch and he’s competing this weekend as well wow nice shot there by Justin Miller really good um man I got something fun for you here Dan it looks like uh Justin’s favorite golf memory listen to this his first win on the Adaptive tour the Adaptive open at Tory Pines North for May 2nd 2024 so that wasn’t too long ago shout out to Justin on his recent Victory and that is definitely a pretty cool golf memory that is really good a win at Tory Pines that’s not bad at all uh this hour of our program is being brought to you by T red gulf located in the Chicago area at bavia Illinois and we thank them for their sponsorship I he of the Chicago adaptive open all right let’s see if we can make a couple of birdies here yeah with that shot Justin just said you can see why he just won a month or so ago you sure can y Justin also shared with us he’s also a musician and he’s been the guitarist and lead singer singer of rock bands most of his life most popular being burn this for a friend so fun fact there and check it out if you you like rock music burn this for a friend I have to admit I’m not familiar me either but after the broadcast I definitely have to give it a listen some rock talk about a renaissance man golf champion and lead singer of the rock band that’s pretty good all right this one’s coming up the hill gonna break hard to his right not quite enough I think he’s telling everybody we misread that one by a little bit blame that one CAD right so he’s going to have that left for par and his playing partner Alexander Han Sandy is his nickname Avon Lake Ohio got a pretty good look at birdie yeah and this is the first time you know danam we’re seeing um a group through with you know needing the use of the the golf cart to help them play and um I just think that’s so cool that you know seeing the different uh ways that you know people are creative it’s just so cool to see you know Finding different ways to play and to swing no matter what I mean it’s just it’s just so cool it really is and Sandy uh just started last summer in the solo cart and uh from the looks of that shot he’s got it down pretty well so this one for birdie this one might be a little bit straighter than most of the other putts we’ve seen on this green yeah looks like he’s made his way on the other side of the the slope here more closer to pin High yeah back up the hill this one shouldn’t do too much oh I think he had it online yep just didn’t quite have enough Pace those are frustrating when we all know it’s just a little bit more than a tap in yep and like we met mention these gentlemen we’re in the 10:50 a.m. starting time making our way to 11t times today we’re from 10:10 until 12:40 so still plenty of golf left today well done there good two putt yeah wait for the ca there from the caddy those caddies come on everyone’s getting everyone’s enjoying it w that’s awesome they’re trying to get a little better read on this one than they did on the first one yeah Justin Miller putting for par oh that is a frustrating bogey you see that on a golf course every day yeah that is tough because he had hit a great shot in there yep the old three putt bogey it it never gets old but it gets hold real fast that’s the thing then you have to whip around and and get the golf cart situated in the right spot so you can go back there and tap it in from that side yeah which is not a problem that’s uh just a couple inches away but I love I love the Integrity I love the competitiveness I it’s super cool as a coach in high school used to tell us you know everything hits the bottom of the cup gentlemen so it’s nice it’s cool to see that they’re they’re they’re playing the ball out and I don’t see anyone picking it up yeah man it’s competition it’s definitely very competitive out there in some of these divisions especially so yeah put them out move on make a birdie on the next one you got a par five in front of you now back to 18 the Par Four finishing hole and I’m not sure if this is a second shot or not if it is that ball was hit pretty darn good down that Fairway that’s not much left and another wow very good shot although that one is going to be a little crooked coming down that Hill yep she’s going to slide down that Hill quickly and to the right I’m just going to say this that is a putt you do not want that one right there that is fast and it is breaking hard to the right on its way come on now well it didn’t break that much at all but it was quick yep he’s going to that one’s going to trle down that Hill there pretty good comebacker for par there yeah sometimes when you’re up there Dan you know you don’t want to leave it short um but it’s hard to control that speed once that ball gets past that hole nothing worries than having the same one coming back get up their ball just short you know you hit it 15 feet past the hole it is so hard to hit it hard enough on the comebacker meanwhile back at 16 yep we are here with the 11: a.m group Brian Liston wake Mullins and stepen oen right looks like a couple of the other gentlemen have already teed off here while we are on 18 we’re going to head back there right now just didn’t quite stay up no wow look at that still trying to sneak away there yeah a little more Pace he might have had a chance to make that but you really have to respect the speed all right nicely done there and that’s going to complete the Adaptive open for him you know I know we touched on it might seem obvious but for people just joining us this is the second and final day Dan um so these players are you know they’re they’re competing and um I’m sure they you know must feel a sense of accomplishment and you know relief sometimes when that you know tournament is over one more from this group to finish up at 18 well judged he buries it hey that’s a tough birdie he deserves a hug for that putt I mean that that is a hard putt not hit the hole yeah you’re right that thing was going down that slope it might not have stayed on the green but we don’t have to worry about that because it wound up right in the bottom well done awesome shaking hands headed to the clubhouse to have a little lunch maybe I believe I heard something about a barbecue at the Pavilion Dan doesn’t sound like a bad idea all right we’re back on 16 here that one’s making its way toward the hole really nice speed there great touch we told you that Andy North was hanging around for the weekend the two-time US Open champ and USGA board member uh he visited with cdga TV to discuss the historic event today his experience with the usgaa his latest business venture and his Recollections from junior golf e all right now let’s hear from Andy North it’s nice to be back at the Chicago area again and adaptive open is fantastic the CDJ what they’re doing with those guys so that’s fantastic building off that why was it important for you to come to this event well I think first of all go back a little bit I’m a new member of the usj executive committee and the adapted o Open was really a huge event for us last year and really a uh it was so well received in the the usj people that were there so was their favorite event of the year so when we found out that cdga was doing one here it was it made sense and uh I think it’s fantastic to give these great athletes their stage and it’s it’s really cool to see how well they can do [Music] it what they’re doing is amazing I I you watch these these athletes playing adaptive the Adaptive open the fact that these are unbelievable athletes and what they’re doing is incredible to watch stand on the Range and watch players one-handed players hit it exceptionally well players on one leg hit it exceptionally well and all the other you know things that people have had to over come to become players and golf’s a wonderful game to do that they can do it forever and it doesn’t matter if you can hit a 200 yards or 300 yards or 100 yards to be able to just get out there and enjoy it and have some fun it’s really important welcome back I’m now joined by Tim Merrick the senior communications director for the Chicago District Golf Association Tim thanks for joining us thanks Mike uh obviously want to thank you guys for being a part of this obviously historic weekend and uh happy to be here awesome well look forward to talking to you more about the association and adaptive Golf and let’s enjoy some of the golf absolutely and now we’re back out on the green at 18 yeah and like Dan mentioned and by the way Mr Dan Ron the Chicago icon he will be joining us in a little bit um so obviously uh want him back in this seat but um yeah did a great job this morning or excuse me earlier this afternoon yeah for sure and I am a not a Chicago native Tim so I have only I’ve heard the lore of of uh of Mr ran but sounds like I I uh I got to to speak with uh quite the legend yes I’ve only been here six years but um a lot of people in the Chicago area especially uh the golf and sports scene Know Dan uh well and we appreciate his time uh this weekend not only today but at our uh ceremony and anniversary celebrations on Friday night definitely Yeah Tim so tell me a little bit about um the cdg’s involvement in adaptive Golf and you know how uh you know how you guys kind of got started with it sure so uh adaptive golf specifically has been kind of a hot button topic within um what we call Allied golf associations of the United States Golf Association um many other agas as we like to refer to them across the country as we’ve said have done adaptive events before um and you know it all starts with uh a lot of people on our staff obviously that that came up with this idea but um probably six months ago um we started brainstorming ideas of how we can do an Adaptive event um our foundation the cdga foundation does a lot of adaptive programming already um but we wanted to do something specifically uh competition related um so about six months ago earlier this year um right at the turn of the year we started brainstorming and obviously you’ve heard the stories about how we partnered with cogill right across the street from our headquarters at Midwest golf house and so um it’s been six months coming in terms of putting this all together as we see a wow there’s a nice putt great putt there uh to finish off your round that’s the second one we’ve seen Tim from from over there it looks fast and breaking a lot but no one’s having an issue so far it looked like a uh a great great speed and that was an up and down that was a Sandy nice putt there another great finish magnet at the bottom of the hole that’s great too seeing the the reaction there yeah well it sounds like it’s just a perfect partnership here with Cog Hill and um cdga and Midwest Golf House like you mentioned and um yeah I mean we’re honestly you know obviously extremely thrilled to be a part of it um and definitely um you know proud to promote and and share on our platform you know adaptive Golf and helping grow the awareness and um you know I think it’s it’s cool to see events like this and um golf in general I think you know even if it’s not adaptive even if it’s other golf events like it’s just so cool from a golf fans perspective to see um different uh you know different you know ways of playing golf and um different events and it’s just so cool seeing different associations putting on different events for all sorts of golfers of you know age um adaptive status you know disability what have you it’s just it’s awesome yeah being out on the course yesterday and obviously with our event on Friday night it seems like uh all the competitors are are um having a great time obviously like we’ve said um the compet comptition is is good and it’s good to get those competitive juices flowing but as we just saw there in 18 green it’s what the camaraderie of this community is all about um you know the handshakes uh as Dan mentioned earlier somebody giv a fist bump after another competitor made a putt you don’t see that across uh all of the Championships uh across the country so very nice to see that aspect of it definitely and I know the camaraderie and the handshaking fist bups are always fun when you’re when it’s the last hole of the tournament y two long days um obviously yesterday our weather was a bit warmer and more humid but uh we’ve been uh we’ve had nice weather here today you know low 70s and sunshine so we’ve been fortunate with the weather this afternoon yeah definitely yeah know we mentioned earlier it’s a it’s a rather cool cool day kind of rare for this time of year in Chicago but definitely um I’m definitely not complaining that’s for sure yep so uh now we’re back out to 18 here Marcus Pierce yeah but Marcus was not kidding when he told us that he he hops that’s what he does he does and I saw him yesterday out there in one of the groups and uh I was quite warm out there covering the championship I can only imagine the effort it must takes to do that so again uh we’ve all had bad rounds on the golf course but um you know it could be worse so yes definitely yep and I’d argue that if you’re on the golf course enjing yourself to any extent it could all yeah there’s a lot of things worse than that so absolutely yeah and we’ll here from Marcus here shortly after he completes his round um so that’ll be pretty cool to talk to him for a few minutes and just hear from you know him what he thinks about you know the event and I’m curious here looking through some of our information here it looks like his dream forum’s tiger his dad um fat Perez who I know a lot of people on social media May me familiar with not to be confused with the pat Perez right and uh the rapper Logic um so quite the uh diverse for some there fa and we’ll see when Marcus gets up to the green here uh the use of some crutches but insists on hopping um for every other shot on the golf course yeah I think Dan might have touched on it um his adaptive golf podcast that margus has which is super cool um and uh he lost his leg after a third time of a third battle with cancer in his left leg so um unfortunate but it seems like he’s making the most of of a bad hand here as as many in the field are definitely definitely I mean that is determination and grit you know they cancer in the leg they chop it off and he’s says he doesn’t need it he just uses the other one to hop even it’s awesome W Nice Shot there yep nice play up onto the green that’ll leave a an uphill putt there you can see it from that shot there being out on the course yesterday just how well the conditions are as well um all of the Cog courses are known for how good their you know the conditions and shape of the golf courses are so um great conditions for these competitors this weekend all right these gentlemen are making their way up to the 18th green again waiting for these players to get up to play their putts on the green 18th here at course number three at Cog Hill yeah and speaking of I know I mentioned earlier I’m not native Chicago and you’ve been here a little bit sure just kind of going through um you know talking with different people and um you know reading it seems like a lot of people aren’t from Chicago either it’s it’s amazing to see how far people have traveled you know for this event one of the things that uh we discussed in the planning stages of this was that this community does travel right um so we knew that if we could get something obviously Chicago is a nice metropolitan area easy to get into and out of um so this community travels well and participates across the country um so we have a lot of States represented um and it’s been nice to see obviously you know being in the communications staff here in the cdga we’re covering a lot of local people but it’s nice to have some uh you know people from Arizona or you know Florida Texas that kind of thing yeah I no there’s a lot of a lot of people from Michigan um and even as far west as Los Angeles and uh was all the way on the East Coast too New Jersey I’m seeing um so very cool yep Chicago is definitely a nice metropolitan area I don’t know about easy to get in and out of maybe if it’s 3 in the morning sure yeah but it’s two airports but still again very yep sometimes not ideal yep yep cgn crew was for forunate traveling in was no problem so it’s always nice so looks like we’ve got a couple uphill putts here yep very nice camera angle there courtesy of the lift provided by the CDJ we really appreciate that Tim you and your staff Casey and the rest of the guys super cool you guys to help us with that H and just short what a great putt that’ll be left in for just a a tap in putut there finish off his round very patriotic Polo as well with Fourth of July coming up this week so there yep yep Dennis Gearhart there tapping it in yep and like I said that camera angle um courtesy of camera operator film in aan we appreciate him standing up there uh working on his sun tan I’d say working on the tan a little closer to the Sun via the lift but uh I know it was quite a uh a trip to get up there but we appreciate him braving the elements all right here’s Marcus he’s going to make a run at this one before we hear from him here shortly yeah I’ve also heard that Marcus is yeah like I know he has the Adaptive golf podcast he’s very very involved uh on social media yeah very uh we’ve seen him mention us our social platforms a couple of times throughout the weekend obviously uh showcasing some of his talents as well as the event as a whole so we appreciate him sharing that across his channels all right looks like he’s got a good 30 feet here it’s going to be up the hill winding wow great run that might have just slid underneath the hole but a good leave there to tap in finish this round definitely I can relate with his answer here he said his wedge game is probably the strongest aspect of his game he said he’s horrible Putter and tries not to leave himself too much to uh to finish off the hole so I think we can all agree that the closer we can leave ourselves the better we are Marcus say just a tap in there to finish out definitely yeah and it’s cool no matter who you are you’re not immune to the you know frustration or the you know fun of golf correct interesting yes that’s a good two put there from where he was at the the front left of the green there to finish off his round all right so Marcus looking to tap this in and then comes join us here and talk a little bit about should be happy with that finish there good to to finish off the round looks like the group here on 18’s posing for a photo so again just showcasing that community aspect um not sure if these competitors have played together before but regardless um it looks like a great day was had on the golf course so definitely you can call it a competition you can call it a tournament but it’s definitely been much more than that throughout the the last two days here so always nice to see a group photo too on the 18th green absolutely all right and before we hear from Marcus we’re just going to hear a quick word from the cdga and then we will talk to Marcus Pierce e a a story story about a father sharing a game that he loves or a mom that she loves and sharing that with somebody in this case their child with a disability not knowing if they’re able to do that and then seeing the joy that they’re able to experience through that shared experience is it’s a gift to to be a witness to that and to hear a a story about a father sharing a game that he loves or a mom that she loves and sharing that with somebody in this case their child with a disability not knowing if they’re able to do that and then seeing the joy that they’re able to experience through that shared experience is it’s a gift to to be a witness to that hey Marcus how are you doing hi good it’s a pleasure to get to speak with you um I wanted to ask you I hear that you’re the the one-legged golfer on Instagram is that true I figured I wasn’t sure but um that’s awesome how did you enjoy your round today at coog Hill um the golf course is beautiful uh the event and all the volunteers are are beautiful my golf game not so much this weekend that’s awesome that’s awesome had a good time do you feel like the uh like you’re being active on social media and promoting adaptive golf do you feel like that’s helped you um kind of just with your journey throughout Golf and your adaptive Journey oh definitely I I think being able to connect to people across the country that you might not even have a chance to meet just because of tournaments um it it’s expanded the game a bunch um and it helps people meet each other um and it it when you see people working hard like that it makes you want to get out and practice more so I think it it improves that’s awesome that’s that’s really cool you’ve you found social media to be able to not only yeah help you but also just help everyone in golf in the Adaptive Community um how would you feel like this event compares to other adaptive events you’ve played and I know you’re obviously very active in the community um I mean I put up there with one of the best the facilities are awesome the course is great uh there’s enough volunteers more than you could ask for um you don’t have to fight for carts so it it’s definitely up there it’s one that people need to put on their list I’m assuming we’ll probably go to a field bigger than 60 next year and get some more folks out here but that’s awesome well there you have it folks Marcus said if you’re an Adaptive golfer looking to play put this on your list next year thank you for joining us Marcus have a great rest of your day absolutely for all right we’re back on 18 so um Tim I know you heard that it was really cool to talk to Marcus and I think that’s really cool that he takes that you know uh advantage of social media and um you know I know everyone’s probably aware there are some you know disadvantages and advantage of social media but I think it’s uh it’s really nice to see something positive and and see something like that because not everyone is uh you know on the same vibration I guess yeah for sure and obviously dealing with social media through the cdga platform um it’s a great tool to to spread awareness and things like that so uh just want to give Marcus a shout out again for using that platform to his Advantage so we see a putt coming up the hill here yep and this is the group of Justin Miller and Alexander Han Jr the two gentlemen uh first that we’ve seen playing with the help uh the use of the cart for help yep um and yeah Justin is is quite the accomplished player as well already and they will clean up these pots here but yeah also awesome to hear Marcus you know tell you know the community to put this on their list even though this is the first year that you know you guys and Cog have have put this on so um really cool of him to say that and um you know I hope everyone listening does you know do that put it on their list for next year because I know it’s only going to get better yeah for sure and obviously uh you know that as we said the community travels and um you know we’re appreciative of all the feedback that we’ve gotten at the end of the day this tournament doesn’t go on without uh the competitors that are that are in the field playing uh over the course of the rounds so very appreciative of mar Marcus’s words there definitely up and the next gentleman that we will hear from will be Marty Neil we didn’t catch him on 16 but I’m sure we’ll catch him on 18 and obviously after the 18th hole but I know he’s got a pretty cool story too so just missed that putt there to the right I’ve definitely been in that position more than a few times um have you played out here a lot Tim are you familiar with the I’ve been able to play all four courses out here um you know definitely as I said earlier maintained well the conditions are always nice uh the gsec family has always been nice to the cdga um and again icons in the in the Chicago Golf Community so um I know everybody in the in the area here is familiar with Cog and has probably played at Cog Hill at some point in their life um but definitely a destination if you’re in traveling from out outside of town or anything like that so yeah definitely and it was only I want to say maybe a 35 minute ride out of the the Midway Airport last night great driving range great practice area so um definitely a staple of the Golf Community here in the Chicago District yeah I don’t think people realize if you’re not from the Midwest I grew up in the Northeast and and I didn’t realize how many beautiful golf courses you know the Chicago area has um whether they public or private really it’s just a plethora of of golf options definitely the history here um obviously Chicago golf one of the founding members of the USGA uh site of the first 18 hole golf course uh in the US here and we’re fortunate in the Chicago District to have over 410 member clubs that we service um so again a big metropolitan area and also a lot of golf history here so as you said again private and public offerings for for uh all golfers from around the area so very blessed and very uh fortunate to have that at our disposal here definitely all right so Han and Miller are finishing up and um was I correct is it barbecue under the Pavilion today or I know there’s I heard the Rumblings that there was pulled pork today oh wow okay um obviously the Cog the Cog dog is a big staple of H Cog Hill so I’m sure those were grilled up yesterday and um a few post round drinks and beverages were flowing as well so um massive tent over there you we got carts you’ve got everything underneath there so it’s nice for the players to finish up head to scoring and then um enjoy some time off here yeah finished good scoring straight to the Cog dog I mean I enjoyed one this morning and I’m GNA see to my dreams this next week I’m sure all right we back out on 16 and that is a phenomenal shot that is Bel the pin that is going to be a good birdie look again that pin located on the front right of the par 316th there yep that funnel still a lot of uh still a few groups to come through here Tim we’re not uh we’re about halfway through the groups on 16 so still plenty of time to potentially see a ho in one definitely and again that split the pot challenge Jersey miks was kind enough to put up $10,000 and that split the pot challenge again a hole in one made on this hole will warrant $5,000 to the the person or individual that makes it and then 5,000 will be donated to the cdga foundation and it’s adaptive programming in the name of the person who who makes that a so definitely hoping to see one here and as uh the CJs Mike gilan put it a very uh prosperous spot for something like that to happen yeah Prime he said and as you can see Jersey Mike’s on the golf cart there that’s uh Mr Dennis Walters um he was at our uh event on Friday night uh a staple in the Adaptive Community um his trick show is you know he travels and does his trick show and we were able fortunate enough to see that on Friday night amidst the rain I will say so rain or shine Dennis does perform and um aided by his can9 friend there uh who’s was out yesterday as well um you can see the umbrella is not propped up but yeah um shelter them from the the shade here so looking to read a putt uh here hopefully a birdie look I would assume but yeah looks like it yeah and it’s interesting I know it’s been a beautiful last sunny days and I know the cgn team can attest to this but when we show up there is no rain usually um wherever we are so there was one time we had some rain and that was that was like in a playoff technically so we technically were supposed to be done so that was overo cgn with the weather here today again a gorgeous day for golf but Yep this group of Dennis Walters and Thomas Duffy also two more of the um players playing with uh help of the cart Thomas Duffy an Illinois native here in h udica i love how he tricked out his golf cart Tim he’s got BM he’s got look all the title is sticker yeah there’s a a lot of real estate there so um yep that is a one cool looking adaptive card put his way it’s looks like it’s going to slide by wow short and left the wrong side of that Ridge is just not a good spot to be on seeing the K9 there reminds me of the dog days of summer obviously we’re not uh facing those harsh and uh you know warm conditions here today but um we will be soon I’m sure look at that little guy just hanging out there he is that’s awesome yeah and I’m told Dennis uh really enjoys bringing his his dog along as he usually yeah does yes the dog is always the dog is there for the trick shows and his his competitive rounds as well so um nice to see is Mr Duff putts up here oh what a great putt there for Thomas Duffy look at that smile Tim I love to see that that’s what it’s all about few things as euper euphoric as a long birie Putt in my experience really any length prdy putt actually fun fact about Thomas Duffy here that he shared with us he played wheelchair basketball for the University of Illinois for six years so a multiport athlete is Thomas Duffy that’s really cool I think if we get a chance to talk to someone that plays different adaptive Sports I’d love to to ask them you know I wonder you know kind of what’s their favorite part about adaptive golf because obviously you know um an Adaptive athlete you know you have different options like you said basketball um I know there’s other sports you can play I wonder what draws them to golf and I’m you know I’m sure everyone has their own story but just be curious to know like their favorite aspect because golf is obviously a lot different than other sports in general definitely all right so Dennis there looks like he’s making a k turn on the green yep little work left going to finish this up make his way to 17 that part five hopefully get one back we were fortunate enough to have Mr Walters out at Midwest golf house a few years ago for the 75th anniversary of our foundation the CDJ Foundation he also performed the trick shot show there as well so appreciative of his time and um attendance in some of our you know anniversary celebrations here yeah and for the people that don’t know Tim um can we find any of those adaptive or his trick shots uh anywhere online you know is I’m sure he’s got stuff online you know as we talked about social media again another Putt and a great fist bump to uh end there on 14 excuse me 18 and again a fist bump from looks like either another competitor or a caddy in the group yeah just love seeing this you know obviously many of us are golfers and and and are accustomed to you know taking the hat off and then shaking hands with your grouping there but always nice to see that uh after along you know two rounds here this weekend you go back to the te on 18 competitor uh wearing a headband I’m sure that came in use yesterday during the uh warm conditions but quite a stylish look I don’t know if I can pull the headband look off here Mike I I’m on the same I’m in the same boat as you Tim yeah headband or visor um would not would not do me Justice I agree I heard you and Dan earlier discussing uh some rock music how’s your singing voice not as good as my broadcasting voice I’ll tell you that my uh my sing voes it’s funny it’s only good in my car the Acoustics in my car are probably the best for that but slightly improved in the shower sure probably yeah sure but all right here we are back on 18 Fairway um in the Shamrocks again it looks like yeah the rup is you know we we uh interviewed and talked with Ryan Jackson the the low uh round yesterday and she discussed um how the Midwest Eng golf in the midwest the rough is a bit different than her native Florida so um again the rough is still rough out here regardless of the competition and and the Adaptive nature of this so um yeah like you mentioned people traveling in from out of town I I like I said I grew up playing golf in the Northeast and so I I played on um you know Ben grass my whole life and even in the Midwest and Illinois Chicago wherever all B grass and then going to to Bermuda I had a little bit of trouble and I really thought like wow this is so much harder playing Bermuda but then when I went to college and I got so accustomed to Bermuda I’m like wow this is way user than bent and I went back to Bent and I was like this is way harder than than adjusting from Ben to Bermuda so I’m sure a lot of the players you know from you know different areas of the country that have Bermuda or um or Ry um are definitely adjusting to that bent rough it it’s the shots out of the fair with the irons and the shots around the green where the ball is sitting down it is unlike any other shot for sure any shot on grass for me is is a difficult shot uh we like the joke that that’s why we stay on this side of the camera so all right and now here we’re going to take a look um at an interview with rayan Jackson um please enjoy of my round I played just pretty solid golf uh couple birdies in there one bogey got to the 15th had an unfortunate double so um you know luckily I’d played pretty solid up until that point was hitting the ball well was putting well uh so a bit disappointed after the double but I feel like I really bounced back for the last four holes of the round making a birdie and then having a couple Pars in there to finish even I was really excited that uh Chicago was hosting an Adaptive event because I love being up in Illinois um don’t know if I’m the biggest fan of Midwest golf the rough up here can be pretty tough but I feel like I handled it well out here and it’s a great track so I enjoyed it I think being from Florida is an advantage cuz honestly like it was hot out here but nothing out of the ordinary I mean it’s about this hot this humid every day back home for the last couple months so you know we had a pretty nice day yesterday despite the rain a little coolera e all right now we take you back out to Hole 18 following Marty Neil’s group we’re going to be hearing from Marty here shortly after he concludes the round um we hope you enjoyed that word with Marcus Pierce and we’re excited to talk to Marty about his experience here at the Adaptive open again Marty another local uh competitor in this field he’s his hometown is Libertyville just uh north and west of the city uh proper here in Chicago so Marty awaits his competitor shot it’s interesting to hear his dream golf for I’m here Mike we’ve got Bill Murray a Chicago Staple in the comedy scene uh Mr Adam Sandler famous actor and then of course John Daly and he adds here that that would be a ho and I would tend to agree yeah it looks like Marty shared with us that he he played before his accident um at 15 years of age looks like he he lost his right hand um in a track Treck accident um and he had a little part three course by his home and then pick the game up again after college so very neat yeah he’s both a patient patient and a research participant at the Shirley Ryan ability lab here in Chicago and has been a patient model for the Northwestern University Masters program and Prosthetics and Orthotics as you can see your Marty does not have a right hand it was amputated after an industrial accident involving a grinder so again just some of these stories that you hear from the competitors this week really put things into perspective uh a lot of us with both hands may take some things for granted on a daily basis so Marty’s lived without a right hand here since January of 1979 so yeah believe once he since he was 15 years old so yeah it also looks like like Marty mentioned that um his favorite golf memory a golf trip to Ireland in 2017 with 11 of his closest friends playing seven different courses the best of which was Old Head Golf Links and sounds like he had a spectacular and just wonderful experience in the golf course and on the trip so I’ve been to Ireland I’ve not played any golf in Ireland um I’m not sure if you’ve been fortunate enough to travel over there at all Mike have not no would like to soon but have not played any golf overseas yet lot of the CDJ member trips that we organize to Ireland through a company called Sullivan golf so um a lot of members have done that here in the Chicago District but well that’s a pretty cool opportunity that you guys offered that and you put that together that’s very unique do a lot of uh international travel as well as domestic travel to a lot of resorts and and different courses throughout the United States so appreciative of the efforts of our corporate partner team to put that all together all right still making our way up here so again as Dan alluded to earlier that the the water here on the left side of 18 occasionally does come into play here Mike so look like Marty skirted it on this Par Four but playing his second shot excuse me his third shot yep and the superintendent did not do them many favors in the rough today correct contact look clean there right next to the pin yeah wow we’ve seen can’t ask for much more there wow no and we’ve seen multiple putts from that side of the pin hold today so wouldn’t surprise me to see another like we’ve got one of our camera guys out there walking with the group so you see him just walking out of that shot very appreciative of uh the whole crew here again it takes a team to put all of this together and we at the CDJ are very thankful and and appreciative of the work cgn and college golf network has has done to uh facilitate this first ever live stream again and inaugural Chicago adaptive open and we are appreciative of the partnership so far definitely yeah I’m glad to hear that and I I know you guys have been organizing this for a while and you know we’ve been talking to you guys and organizing it on our end for a while now too a few months at least so um it’s so great to finally see it come to fruition and um just you know from an introduction back you know in the late winter early spring to now you know it’s funny it feels like oh you know June’s forever away right like they’ll never get here but somehow always finds a way so yeah I’m just glad to see it all come to fruition and um we’re happy to be a part of as well look like another putt will be up coming from the left side again right side of your screen but the left portion of that green here so we’ seen a couple hold and hopefully see a few more here yep like I said would not surprise me if Marty holds that one from that side of the pin because we’ve seen a lot of guys knock it down so and this one’s coming up the hill Tim and we’ve seen this one short a lot today that that pin front left and as as we mentioned earlier slopes from back to front so yeah always tough to judge the speed coming up the hill as he’ll get another look for this upcoming putt yep and Dan mentioned it’s deceiving on on uh the broadcast here on TV it’s hard to really see how much that slopes back to front so correct looks like our guy Marty here is going to be finishing up playing hit this putt for par this should be a world class up and down Tim looking forward to talking with Marty after he finishes up here definitely can’t wait to hear about his perspective there it is there’s a magnet there great and he waves to the uh onlookers there and a fist bump from a fellow competitor the caddy yep fantastic see if we can see another one and another one we see wow we’ve seen a lot we make it a tri can we make it a trifa I hope so we’ve seen a lot of putts hold today Tim a lot of these guys so far that you know are missing maybe a hand or arm they put better than I do with two correct correct oh and the trifecta we get again great puts from all three competitors in this group as they go to shake hands and and walkoff finally uh as they finish the second and final round of the inaugural Chicago ad Optive open yep straight to the Cog dogs now definitely I might have to uh join them here in a little bit to grab my own I’ve already had one yesterday and might entertain another one today shoot that’s probably what Dan’s doing right about now the question is how do you take your dog oh well let’s see I am from New York but I prefer ketchup mustard relish and onions okay I’m with you except for the relish I’m not going to do any relish yeah I like a lot on it I get it pretty fully loaded yeah yeah it’s a religion here in Chicago is the hot dog so yeah definitely mustard that’s a non-negotiable though corre if I had to pick H or mustard I’d have to pick mustard okay so again waiting for Marty to uh join us here for a quick interview yeah mean you can see that little better that camera angle where it’s positioned and just how good of a job Phil’s doing with that camera up there yep someone someone make sure we get him some water we don’t need him falling off that a hat or some sunscreen at some point I was just told he has a chair so I I take that back he has a chair and it looks like the group’s taking a photo in front of we’ve got uh the uh platform in which Phil here is is Manning the camera on has some nice Chicago diap of open graphics and and stuff around it so yeah I saw that it’s wonderful and a great piece um for these competitors again you see a lot of these people taking pictures falling the round it’s nice to see that you know people Comm commemorating the events in their own way so and I’m just poking fun Phil is my little brother so I’m allowed to do that again cool to see this uh group photo here and I’m sure that’ll be shared across the community and oh yeah posted elsewhere and we appreciate uh everyone posting it and sharing it and and things of that of that nature across social media so yeah you don’t you don’t see that at every golf tournament really really don’t it’s I mean the competitive Natures flow and and I think a lot of people are just consumed with what went on in the round versus taking the time to enjoy yeah definitely and this hour again is brought to you by zero friction we’ll be back with an interview with Marty Neil so today R friction the first ofit kind personal cab walk in comfort and style with strides remote and follow me technology The Stride handles almost any terrain and its 54 hole range will last all day the lightweight design and removable front wheels makes it simple to handle plus it easily fits golf carts order yours and save visit zerof friction. back/ stride or scan the QR code to order yours today stride your personal caby hey Marty thanks for joining us good sir how are you doing Mike how are you that’s awesome it was a pleasure to watch you hold that putt on the last sir tell me a little bit about that one it looked downhill sliding never a doubt yeah yeah it was downhill sliding and my uh my caddy who’s my uh my older brother Larry said uh he was thinking a cup out and I agreed and I knew it was downhill and uh thankfully it looked right on target the whole way from the TV inside here but uh tell me a little bit about your um your experience here at Cog Hill and the Chicago adaptive open how does it compare to some of the other adaptive events you’ve played in in your career I have not played in one of these adaptive events before uh that’s one of the reasons I have to say I was so excited about this event is that I’ve been a member of the cdga for years and you know six eight months ago when I saw the advertisement uh in their Chicago golfer magazine for this event coming up uh I was pretty excited about it uh I’m a patient research subject down at the Shirley Ryan ability lab I have not uh worked with them on any adaptive golf I’ve done a lot of research with them but after seeing the Adaptive golf program that they just started and then seeing what the cdga is doing here and I signed up right away and thankfully uh there were enough participants uh to make the tournament go and if this is the way the Adaptive events are run then I can’t more well I guess it’s safe to say that this won’t be your your first one your last one at least and we hope to see you back here next year thank you you have a good rest of your day and you enjoy your lunch sir thank you e it was great to hear from Marty Neil and uh like we heard Tim it sounds like this is his first adaptive event actually but um sounds like it’s safe to say it won’t be his last so um it’s great to hear and we look forward to having him back hopefully next year um we’re going to take a quick break and just want to let you know that while in town for the inaugural Chicago adaptive open two-time US Open winner and USGA board member Andy North visited with cdga TV and Casey to discuss the historic event his experience with usgaa his latest business venture and his Recollections from junior golf Joy TV is two-time US Open Champion Andy North in town for the inaugural Chicago adaptive open Andy thank you for taking the time to come to the event and then sit down with us here this is a pleasure it’s it’s nice to be back at the Chicago area again and adaptive open is fantastic the cdga what they’re doing with those guys so it’s fantastic building off that why was it important for you to come to this event well I think first of all go back a little bit I’m a new member of the usj executive committee and the adapted o Open was really a huge event for us last year and really a uh it was so well received and the the usj people that were there so was their favorite event of the year so when we found out the cdga was doing one here was it made sense and uh I think it’s fantastic to give these great athletes their stage and it’s really cool to see how well they can do it Cog Hill the site of the inaugural event I know in speaking with you earlier you said you have some familiarity with the gemc family and the course and everything along those lines so what makes that particular venue suited to host this event well I think first of all what the gemi family have done for golf in the Chicago area is amazing um their reputation is operators of public facilities is absolutely the best and you know they’ve got so much history in the Chicago area and golf it’s it’s you know you can’t talk about golf here without Joe Jem’s name coming up and now the rest of the family is really deeply involved so um it’s a great facility what they’ve been able to accomplish here uh upgrading the facility year after year and and to me the Adaptive event here probably makes more sense than any place else it’s you know all about Chicago golf here and you what they’ve been able to do so it’s great we’ll talk about your amateur career in a second but what Memories do you have about your professional career uh as it relates to golf in the Chicago area well first of all you know playing all the Western opens for years was fantastic we’ve had a couple of us opens in town over that time I never could figure out this place it was too hard for me I couldn’t drive the ball in the Fairway enough times but I struggled around here you know I don’t know what my actual record was but I never had a chance to win the Western here um came closer at Butler and some of the other places but it was an event I always wanted to play well in and and didn’t get it done that’s always a little disappointing after having good success of the western Junior and the Western Amer you’d like to kind of gone for a giant three repat if you could but it didn’t work out that way you mentioned your recent appointment to the usgaa board why was that something that you wanted to pursue well I think you know you the history that you’ve had in the golf business o over the last 50 60 years um the usj the Western they were my two favorite events that meant the most and uh to be more now involved with the usja on on executive committee standpoint has been really fun and hopefully I can lend a little bit of expertise and knowledge to that group and uh so far so good they haven’t kicked me out so I’ve been to a couple meetings I’m still there so I think that’s a positive that’s good as an Allied golf associate of the USGA the cdga is obviously very intertwined with the the USGA and carrying out a lot of the initiatives at the local level here in the Chicago district from what you’ve learned so far how important is that kind of relationship to the overall golf landscape I didn’t really realize how connected they were and how important um you know the USGA can come up with a lot of great ideas but you’ve got to get it done at the local level and and I think that’s the relationship is in the last four or five years is different than it used to be I think um under the leadership we have now we understand how important the local organizations are and be from running tournaments setting up qualifiers to handicap system you know all the things that get done are so important for us at the major level that it’s nice to have great relationships locally MH shifting years I know there’s a project that you’re really excited about uh with your Northway Technology Group if you can just tell us a little bit about that and what you’ve got going basically it’s it’s a it’s technology which I’m scared to death of uh I’m still the old guy that’s kicking the kids off of the front yard you know that kind of that kind of deal but um we think it’s it’s a golf app there’s a lot of them out there um we think it’s it’s going to change how the apps are looked at it’s it’s a voice activated using my voice uh it’s going to be uh a lot of fun uh hopefully it can help players enjoy the game more uh get people to improve their game games with this app and have more fun playing golf and that’s the bottom line is that you want to have people have a great time out here playing and talking with you and your team I know you guys have kind of some guiding principles that you’re using to develop this uh can you just kind of delve into those and what you really want kind of the end product to be and what they want I I think the bottom line is that so often you create technology just for technology St sake we want this to actually improve the experience you want to have people have more fun uh enjoy the game get better and and if all that works out it’s going to be a win-win for everybody at the end and then not only I know do you envision this you know being used by golfers everywhere but then maybe specifically adaptive off golfers as well in that you know it has the The Voice function so well think about there’s a ton of really good players that are blind that are playing the game and to be able to have something that helped them yardage wise and some you know some things that you can’t see um I think that the voice activate is a big deal for for them uh but again it’s what they’re doing is amazing I I you watch these these athletes playing adaptive the Adaptive open the fact that these are unbelievable athletes and what they’re doing is incredible to watch stand on the Range and watch players one-handed players hit it exceptionally well players on one leg hit it exceptionally well and all the other you know things that people have had to overcome to become players and golf’s a wonderful game to do that they can do it forever and it doesn’t matter if you can hit a 200 yards or 300 yards or 100 yards to be able to just get out there and enjoy it and have some fun it’s really important absolutely so earlier we alluded to your amateur career you grew up in Madison Wisconsin but uh there was a summer where you participated in some events here locally in the Chicago area and you actually won a cdga junior event the cdga match play uh what do you remember from that that that it was a long time ago 1967 it was a long time ago I was lucky enough that the the gentleman that started me in golf in Madison uh get got the head pro job at barington Hills which is a wonderful facility on the west side of town and I spent a lot of time down here so you know he he was able to get me I don’t know if I joined the cdga as a junior member then I don’t actually remember that but I played in a few events over a few years and was lucky enough to win the match play Crystal Lake beat a lot of really good players and uh you know the quality of golf in Chicago back then it was amazing how many unbelievable players Joel H H was just a little bit older than I was you know that’s the guy that kind of everybody looked up to that was the the Goda of great great golf in town and he’s still around supporting a lot of great events yep and as we get ready to unveil uh the new hansburg collection we have at Midwest Golf House I understand that you’re donating a club to us uh you know from that era of your golf career this is this is a little bit beat up this is uh a sand wedge that I used back in that period of time I dug around the basement found went through some boxes and stuff and found this I thought that would be only fitting to donate a club that that actually won a golf tournament here in the Chicago District even though it was almost 50 years ago absolutely well we appreciate the donation Andy appreciate your support and we’re excited to have you in town this week yeah this doesn’t look very new pretty Dynamic but it’s it it’s still works you could probably still get up and down from anywh I think we’d get it out of a bunker if we had to thanks yep a a story about a father sh sharing a game that he loves or a mom that she loves and sharing that with somebody in this case their child with a disability not knowing if they’re able to do that and then seeing the joy that they’re able to experience through that shared experience is it’s a gift to to be a witness to that I’m Mike bruny I’m Jeff Rim Snider I’m Nicole jeray I’m Jason Windgate I’m Garrick Parker I’m Tom biter I’m Casey Richards I’m Casey M kitis I’m Dan hotchkin I’m Tracy Raul I’m Ron Cy I’m Steve reesy I’m Bill Frasier I’m Brady rule we are better through golf [Music] e e e all right we hope you enjoyed that interview with Andy North and Casey Richards um we are back here live at the inaugural Chicago adaptive open and we’re going to be hearing from Dennis Richards here in a few moments Dennis Walters Dennis Walters excuse me thank you um Tim how much do you know about Dennis tell me a little like I said Dennis has has been very kind to the cdga and the Chicago District um obviously corporate partner of is Jersey Mike’s and and Jersey Mike sponsors Dennis’s play as well he’s he’s done a couple trick shot shows for us across the street at Midwest golf house and uh has been very gracious with this time but um you know Dennis uh was given the Bobby Jones award uh in 2018 by the USGA so a great honor for him and he’s he’s in the World Golf Hall of Fame um as an inductee in 2019 um Dennis was injured in a golf cart accident and became paralyzed um in 1974 so so um he’s been a staple and an icon in the Adaptive Golf Community here and uh for a while so um as we see him finish out we look forward to uh him joining the broadcast to uh answer a couple questions definitely yeah I’m excited to uh to talk to him here in a few minutes to get more info on the on the pup that’s on the card here as well yes looks like just a tap in here to finish off the round for Dennis look like a nice Applause from the crowd here as both of these seated players Thomas Duffy and Dennis Walters look to uh shake hands and finish out their rounds must be a nice round playing with a World Golf Hall of Fame inductee here um for Thomas Duffy so I’m sure appreciative of the opportunity we look forward to uh speaking with Dennis here shortly as he comes off the green and again the trick shot shows when I tell you Mike are awesome a lot of different stuff going on yes I’ve heard uh that they’re quite spectacular correct the one that he put on uh Friday night was it yep yep in the rain I will say again Ryan or shine he’s ready for it so and here’s our sponsor Jersey Mike who also sponsors Dennis Walters they slice your sub right in front of you all that meat and cheese just for me watching that takes me to my happy place oh wait Jersey Mike’s is my happy place Kelly did I place an order here in my happy place not yet Danny then I’m going back to reality number s for Danny oh thanks reality Kelly sliced right in front of you to Jersey Mike S a sub above all right we’ll be hearing from Dennis Walters here in a few minutes um but before that the inaugural Chicago adaptive open would not have been possible without the partnership between the cdga and the United States adap golf Alliance a nonprofit organization focused on bringing inclusion to individuals with disabilities through the game of golf here’s a look at some of the impactful work done by the organization the United States adaptive golf Alliance a 501c3 nonprofit believes in golf’s power to transform lives our mission is to advance human potential and promote inclusion through the game of gol our programs focus on three primary pillars the first is teach we host adaptive golf training for organizations Nationwide to fill Community programs with trained adaptive golf coaches we focus on sharing our knowledge of inclusive ways to teach golf to individuals with disabilities the second is Play We host adaptive golf clinics offering a supportive environment where adaptive athletes can connect and grow at no cost for participants our goal is to support individuals as they progress from rehabilitative movement to competitive golf the third is compete we create opportunities for adaptive golfers to compete on a Level Playing Field utilizing our USA GA standards with more than 35 tournaments included in our men’s and women’s rankings since our founding in 2014 the US adaptive golf Alliance has grown into a coalition of almost 50 member organizations serving more than 40,000 individuals annually our participants experience measurable physical mental and emotional improvements and our evidence-based methods ensure that everyone regardless of ability can experience the full benefits of golf join us in making a difference visit us aga.org to learn more and get involved with adaptive golf e I can hear in the background I can’t understand I don’t think they’re talking to me hi Dennis how are you good sir Mr Walters I hear you’re quite the icon and legend of the Adaptive Community is that fair to say well I think as far as a seated division goes I I I believe I’m the one that started it so gives me great pleasure to see all these other folks out here playing golf in this tournament and wherever I go every time I see somebody that’s in a in a one of these uh devices it makes happy tell me a little bit about your pup there you got on your lap is do they always come with you on the golf course yes this is I I’ll now interview Gus this is Gussy and he went along and watched me putt horribly today I hit the ball good see he doesn’t even want to talk about it it was so bad but yeah this is this is uh this is the opening act in our show and uh I’ve had five dogs all rescue dogs and uh I like to get them so uh they look like Benji the movie dog I’ve had five of these guys and uh I’ve trained them all to be service dogs so they they help me on the golf course but they help me in real life as well you’re quite the animal lover how uh how was your experience at Cog Hill this year and how would you say it compares to some of the other adaptive uh events you played in your career I loved being here at Cog Hill I think this is this is a a a fabulous place it’s an institution here in Chicago and uh the golf courses are here are terrific I think they picked a good course for us to play number three I thought it was fair challenging and uh I think the Chicago District Golf Association is doing a wonderful job I think that they are I think they’re in the Forefront there right up there with the USGA as far as playing golf getting others with disabilities to play golf and it it it really does warm your heart that they’re interested in this and they’re leading the way and I I salute them wholeheartedly every person I’ve met in this Chicago District Golf Association has been a terrific person and with the most interested feelings about promoting this this adaptive Golf and uh golf for everyone and and I’m happy they’re including us in their promotion definitely I know the CDJ appreciates too and I would agree everyone’s been extremely uh wonderful to to to meet with and talk with but I’m glad you enjoyed the event uh and we hope to see you back here next year and thank you for your time have a great rest of your day Mr Walters yes sir you too and all the best uh there’s no putting in my show which is why I probably putt so bad but uh I did enjoy playing in this tournament and I I met some really nice folks and I and I I’m very grateful I had the opportunity thank you all right thank you e e e e well it’s certainly was my pleasure to speak with Tim Merrick the senior communications director from the cdga and we hope that you enjoyed our conversation as well um i’ now like to welcome back Dan row to the booth Dan good to have you back how your good to be back uh lunch break was great had a delicious Cog dog I know everybody in the room here is jealous and uh ready to get back to work here on number 16 and for people who may just be tuning in uh the Chicago adaptive open has partnered with Jersey miks and creating a $10,000 split the pot Challenge on 16 here if anybody makes a hole in one they take home $5,000 and another 5,000 will be donated in their name to the cdga foundation helping to support their program so a lot on the line on this part three and as we’ve said all afternoon the pin placement here is conducive to the chance of somebody knocking one in yep and that looks like a hybrid off the te and that’s found the putting surface that’s a good shot right there very good all right this is Ryan Matthews now excuse me this is Jason Hasty now on the T correction apologies good swing okay A little shortsighted there tough up and down from right of this pin definitely short side it’s not where you want to be and it doesn’t look like the LI is too bad actually sitting up you can see a lot of the ball it’s always a good sign it’s a little short now is this Jonathan Snider who should have an advantage here he’s playing on his home course K Hill is his home a Chicago area native he’s made four aces in his career and he is very involved the president of the United States adaptive golf Alliance and a competitor as well well so he’s out there doing his stuff today on number 16 and uh we hope to talk to Jonathan a little bit later on after he makes the turn and finishes up there at 18 yep and for those of you just joining us we’re just tuned in here back on 16 uh Jonathan Snider is joined along with Ryan Matthews and Jason Hasty they are coming up the 16th hole as we speak only a couple of more groups to come through so we are winding to a close here yeah then two more groups uh to come through 16 so um few more chances at a hole in one never know all right looks like someone’s ball found the water there um they’re just sorting out with the rules officials they’re helping them out that may have been Jonathan’s ball I’m not sure yeah we jump back in after the interview a little late a couple uh gentlemen had already teed off so all right not a lot of green to work with here going to have to carry the rough but ball is sitting up he a pretty stock pit shot there and not too bad but that Ridge is just not going to allow that to get very close now if you get a little bit past this pin and a little bit to the right of it not easy looks like they’re going to take a look at the green here before hits his Chip Shot maybe putting from off the green actually Dan what are your thoughts on uh the pin being pulled in recent years or oh pin being allowed to stay in re rather recently um it’s probably a good thing especially on some of the longer putts I think some of the players uh like to have that as a visual but you know for me it’s uh I would rather have the the pin out especially on shorter puts I think it’s you know to me it seems like you have a bigger Target and I’ve seen a few bounce off the PIN bounce out too so in fact I missed a hole in one uh the other not the other day but a couple of weeks ago same thing banged one right off the middle of the pin and didn’t miss out that’s one thing I’ve noticed from a lot of these adaptive players it seems like everyone pulls the pin and we’ve seen them wholesome from a decent distance as well so we continue to show you the players who are competing on the bottom of your screen uh the leaderboard right now looks like this Jared Foltz is the overall leader he’ll be on his way to 16 here in a group or two he’s plus three and then there are a couple of other ones that are still in the mix uh as we mentioned Ryan Jackson who was the first round leader at even par is five over today so she’s two shots off the pace three other players are plus seven for the tournament so our leader is plus three we have a plus five and three others a couple of more Strokes back at seven definitely it’s going to come down to these last few holes and um 16 could have a a say in it yep and it looks like Jarrett will actually be in the next group coming through 16 so we’ll see him shortly I know Ryan yesterday had a problem may have been on this hole 16 where she had a bit of a hiccup it then knocked it on the green and two on the very next hole which is a par five and had a nice two- putt birdie to get herself back to even par so she should be playing 17 right about now so we’ll get those scores updated as soon as we can and see where everybody stands but yeah it’s going to come down to the wire so it appears yeah and for those of you watching that are curious um there are a couple different uh I guess Victors if you will um there’s classification winners as well as an overall winner so um Jarrett and Ryan are currently battling for that overall winner here today that put is plenty of pace but just slides by yeah you’re not going to you’re not going to make it on that from that angle unless you play it a little bit outside the right Edge for the putter there and just missed it on the low side we mentioned Jared folz in the lead at plus three he shot 77 yesterday he is too under for the day as he makes his way towards 16 he’s through 15 now so he’ll be coming up very shortly uh here at 16 and we’ll get a chance to check out the leader yeah that is super impressive Dan looks like I’m looking at his card right now um he he played similar to yesterday but he’s keeping the double Bogies off the card today he’s got a lot of birdies today one two three four five birdies in his round and as we said two under par for the day and plus three for the event yep yeah looks like he made five yesterday as well but today he’s yep keeping those doubles off the card and 200 is an extremely impressive round so I’m look forward to watching him here soon for all right the stage is set for the Jared folz group yep and here is Jarrett himself starting us off here on 16 in the home stretch no big surprise he has the te right on a five birdie day right yep it lookss like Jared’s No Stranger Dan to being in contention um looks like he recently won the Ohio State adaptive open in August of 2023 so he knows what it takes to win little little bit of an outside to end little cut it did not find the putting surface he’s a little bit short and right yeah just going to be pitching from that Fairway well not a terrible spot below the pin at least next to play Kirk Holberg Kirks having a good tournament 10 over par for the event yeah very respectable score out here today looks like holberg’s also just going to avoid the putting surface but not far having a good day today just Plus one after an 81 opening round great bounce back rounding out the group Luke Carroll Luca also 10 over par for the tournament eight over today so it looks like this group all came up a little bit short got a chip off coming up together that we do now please enjoy this beautiful Drone footage of whole 16 at Cog Hill number three as you can see Dan that Ridge that you’ve been we’ve been talking about in the right middle part of that green just a really pretty par three and a great hold to have down this down the stretch I think the water level in the pond has gone up a little bit today with the addition of a few titlists and some other ammo that hav not found the grass on the other side of that cart path yes I was going to say I think the a lot of the players would agree this hour of our broadcast is being brought to you by Cog Hill Golf and Country Club our host for this event the inaugural event uh Cog Hill has done a great job in that regard U the players really enjoying not only the weather but the golf course everybody had really good things to say about Cog Hill course number three and it’s provided a setting for some great uh competition great friendship sportsmanship and it’s been a terrific weekend and we can’t thank cogill enough uh for the generosity shown Us by the gemc family in hosting this event uh terrific job by them all right we’re back at the action and just to Echo what you just said Dan uh we’ve had a couple players we’ve interviewed that have said the same thing um they said you know they’re super appreciative of Cog Hill and as well as the cdga and you know can’t thank them enough for for bringing this event to light nice Chip Shot there yeah it looks like a potential pars saver for one let’s see how the other guys do here Yep looks like the leader folz has a wedge in his hand he’s walking back toward the rough good speed wow look at that right here’s the leader fultz this is a a big up and down he needs here from off the green who ran it by just a little bit that will not be the easiest putt coming back that one should move a little bit left to right right now we’re going to step aside uh with another message from the cdga and then a return with more Golf and a quick interview from Jake Olsen the only Long Snapper in the field today handicap we have an array of playing opportunities for both the serious competitive golfer and those who are of different skill levels genders and ages through our social competition Series so we’ve got a lot of playing opportunities I think cdg’s investment in all aspects of the game have made us a closer Community when we are reminded that this wonderful game builds community and cdga does that great all right uh back in our studio here we are joined off the 18th green there by Jake Olen from Huntington Beach California who had a pretty good tournament I would say Jake how did you uh how would you rate your scores today and yesterday yeah both days were pretty good um by my account um honestly kind of one of those it was crazy things where I felt like I struck the ball better today but probably shot a stroke or two worse so um but by by all standards you know felt good about you know every Club in the bag for the most part was just figuring out the the course and honestly what screwed us up more than anything was the rain on the practice round on Friday and then the greens dried out on Saturday and Sunday and they kind of acted a little differently so it was it was just figuring those out but a great tournament great course most people know Jake that you’re sight impaired um so you must rely on your caddy uh uh even more than some of the other players do yes I rely on my dad a lot and it is definitely a team effort um a lot of people say I can it’s an easy easy scapegoat out there I can blame him for anything that goes wrong but it’s it’s it’s both of us that you know requireed to be perfect you know for everything to go well and so um you know I I don’t blame him for anything that that usually goes wrong it’s usually my swing and everything that I I attribute any Miss shots to but he he does a great job and that’s great that you get to spend time with him like that that is a that’s an awesome thing so uh you’re a football guy uh you were part of the team at Southern cow a Long Snapper got a chance to let one go in a game if I’m not mistaken um that’s fantastic in itself how did uh you come about the game of golf then was that did you play golf before uh all the football stuff or did you take it up afterward I did did I did and actually I attribute football to golf um you know I started golfing right after losing my eyesight and I played beforehand but you know was the first sport I probably picked up and said hey even though I’ve lost my eyesight I still want to play and so there’s obviously a lot of growing pains but eventually we kind of got down a system and through muscle memory and everything we were able to you know hit some good shots and Stitch some good shots together and etc etc and eventually I’m in high school wondering how can I even play football cuz it’s another sport I love with and okay I’m not going to be quarterback I’m not going to be a receiver what what can I do and someone said well have you heard of the long samping position I said um not really he goes well it’s the same same putt or same uh snap over and over again use muscle memory to do it and so I said well I know how to do that because of golfing so I’m going to go ahead and do that is a ter story hey uh what what does it mean to you to be able to compete in these events I mean I think it it it it means just as much to me as anyone else out here and that is just we love this game um golf’s just one of the best best games in the world uh I think it teaches so much about just life and and challenges you in so many ways that you know are are attributable to other places in life but um I love this game and to show people how much I love it I’m willing to go and and hit a golf ball without even being able to see it and do it um at extreme level I think is is just a testament to how much I love this game and the gifts that God has G me terrific it’s a thrill for us to have you this weekend uh congratulations on a good tournament and we send it back out to the golf course now out for more closing action here at the Chicago adaptive open all right we’re back here on 18 par 4 that is Ryan Jackson I we didn’t get to see her approach shots I’m not sure if that was for birdie or for par no not as we said our last report she was five over par U the women’s overall Champion that part of it has been wrapped up she’d like to get her hands on the overall trophy but uh she got a little bit of a hill to climb there with uh Jared folz hanging on to the lead at this moment but congratulations to Ryan Jackson the winner in the women’s division in the Chicago adaptive open and we hope to grab a word with Ryan here in just a second yeah but just a quick store update for you Dan looks like Jared folz while we were away in the interview he did make a bogey on the 16th hole um drops to one under one under on the round so it could be close here he that would mean uh Ryan here has a putt that she really has to make I’m going to go ahead and assume this putt is for par yep either way needs to see this one go in to have a chance all right so Ryan cleans that up she going to shake her playing partner’s hands here it’s the second or third pup we’ve seen on the green today Dam got to get that team photo there at 18 right yeah it’s nice to see everyone animals included enjoying the uh the event today yep and that’s what it’s all about right there yeah we talked about competition and camaraderie and there’s a whole lot of that going on here at Cog Hill today yep and we’ll be joined here by Ryan Jackson shortly Dan will be nice to hear from her and see how she finished up the round today how do you read that body language a little disappointed I think think that one was for bogy I don’t know she’s pulled her hat down over her eyes so I don’t know that she’s too thrilled with what’s happening but I don’t know if she knows what’s going on behind her either fair enough and either way still a lot to be proud of but before we talk to Ryan we want to say thank you again to our sponsor Jersey miks and we’ll be right back with an interview with Ryan Jackson they slice your sub right in front of you all that meat and cheese just for me watching that takes me to my happy place oh wait Jersey miks is my happy place Kelly did I place an order here in my happy place not yet Danny then I’m going back to reality number seven for Danny oh thanks reality Kelly sliced right in front of you it’s a Jersey Mike’s thing a sub above welcome back to the Chicago adaptive open uh we are joined now off the 18th green by Ryan Jackson who just finished her round with we don’t know what you made there Ryan par or bogy at a girl we were hoping that was what it is uh the overall competition is getting pretty tight uh were you able to check a leaderboard out there at all and and know where you stand um yeah I did check it a few times uh knew I wasn’t playing the greatest golf but still put up a solid round so still a few players out there though you’ve got some uh great items in your backstory one of which is that the only thing you do left-handed is play golf how did that happen uh honestly not too sure I do remember being very young and you know my both my sisters had all these clubs and my dad kept giving me a Putter and I kept wanting to go to the left side so um finally he gave up though so everybody in your family plays and and you told us that you were probably uh the worst golfer in the bunch which is hard to believe y yeah both my older sisters could probably without playing at all you know you’re a native Floridian and you live in Florida now but you had that inluded in Charleston Illinois I have to ask you how did you wind up at Eastern Illinois uh well when you study history in college and you’re just the average Collegiate golfer there’s very few programs in the United States for a masters in history with an average golf team so um really glad that that ended up working out though I really agree I know that um your disease kind of overtook you during the time you were in Charleston there um I would be hard to think you’re a better player now than you were then but is is that the case by your scores I think a lot of people might think that’s the case yeah I would say so I think a lot of it too is the distance the difference in yardage that we’re playing out here um coming from college where we’re playing anywhere between 5900 and 6100 yards uh then to come out here and have a lot more wedges and short irons in my hand um definitely makes me a little bit more how did you enjoy the golf course uh I really enjoyed it was not a fan of the rough today well it’s not like Florida oh I don’t know if it’s more difficult or easier but it’s not the same that’s for sure no it’s a lot more dense here so had some trouble but I feel like overall put up a good round so well great well thanks for joining us we appreciate it congratulations on being the women’s overall Champion uh we’ll see what happens as these final groups come up uh you’re still alive to win the whole thing thank you all right good Ryan jackon uh awaiting the final golfers here coming off uh 17 and 18 to see exactly where it is she winds up on the leaderboard she has won the Women’s Championship that we do know yep and that was nice to hear from Ryan and Dan I’m glad to hear that that was a par on 18 but I think that just shows you how how hard she is on herself and how how good she really is shows you how much she wanted that birdie is what it shows you I think yeah this is the final group of the day on 16 so after this group concludes we will be heading to 18 and watching the championship wrap up well sad to say nobody made a hole in one today no know it is sad but um I would say as we look back at at what we’ve seen there at 16 it it seems to me that while we all thought that pin placement might be a good one for the for the chance of somebody to make one because the green kind of runs in that direction I think we’ve seen a lot more balls run off to the right than we have run down from left to right on that hole so maybe it wasn’t quite the easy pin that we thought it might might be yeah I was going to say I I think it was a little bit harder to once you got on the green it might have looked good from from the te but we saw a lot of players on 18 making putts they definitely puted better on 18 and than on 16 so um yeah I think you could be right there yeah if you’d ask me I would say 18 is a harder green to putt than this one but apparently that has not been the case and there’s another one that runs Way by yep and you can really see there just how far away that hole is from the the right edge of the green is not far at all so that that pin is definitely tucked on the right side there not a lot of space between The Fringe and the hole he going to have to put a little mustard on this one back up that hill and oh good effort just missed I don’t know how didn’t go in misses on the right winds up on the left shows you how much slope is right there around that cup yep this group finishing up was the group of Philip kamak Rick oldak and Evan Maas Rick shot 73 yesterday not exactly sure where he is today my leaderboard seems to have disappeared there we go Rick is plus nine for the day plus 10 for the event the leader in G3 is uh Evan Matias who is plus six for the tournament uh three today three over yesterday so he’s having a nice consistent run here at cogill number three yep and now we’re got you back out to 18t here which will be the remaining of remaining coverage here that’s a nice low draw up the left side see if it stays in a fair way all right so we’ll see we get up there right side of the Fairway is better on this hole yep it looks like we got two more groups after this Dan so we’re nearing the end of our coverage here but I know I’ve enjoyed my time with you as well as Tim and um being here at Cog Hill so I truly appreciate being a part of it yeah me too Mike nice nice working with you and and the whole crew here at college golf it’s really uh it’s been an interesting afternoon to watch these athletes participate and perform the way they do it’s been a lot of fun to watch and eye opening in many respects nice big loose swing right there lot of turn I imagine that one’s down there relatively close to the green yeah very on plane as well we can’t go much further without uh thanking uh the more than 50 volunteers who were at cogill this weekend and and helping uh and big ways to make this the success that it has been I mean you can’t do that without the red shirt crew out there and uh they’ve been terrific and uh really great of everyone to donate their time and their effort to come out and help get this tournament going uh it’s been a great day a great day for them I’m sure they’re thrilled to death that they had the opportunity uh to come out and do this but uh the tournament would not go off the way it has without their help and we certainly appreciate it yep we’re definitely grateful everyone that’s chosen to spend this Beautiful Sunday with us today and to those of you at home watch and we appreciate you tuning in to college golf Network as well as the cdg’s presentation of the Chicago adaptive open yep so you can see we’ve got someone right someone left that’s 17 green uh in the background the par five there might be a couple of groups left on that hole in fact I think there are so one of those groups uh involves Jared folz who was our leader but who bogied 16 to fall back to plus4 uh just one shot ahead of Ryan Jackson who’s already in the clubhouse so we’ll see how this plays out over the last hole and a half yeah it is shaping up to be a great finish today couldn’t ask for much better all right second shot 28 on the way look to be headed a little bit to the right there’s a greenside bunker over there and I’m not sure if that ball wound up on the beach or not looks like it’s on the path actually Dan oh there it is I can see it was blending in with the the car path there pretty good ball was hiding once again good on you I don’t know how you saw now I can see it yep thank you for your patience cameraman ours yep well done so that’ll be a drop I imagine but yeah like you mentioned Dan Jarrett folz um is in the group behind this group so should be seeing it come to a head here soon this is the group of Jonathan Snyder Ryan Matthews and Jason Hasty making their way up the 18th green h on that’s going to be a nasty chip down that Hill I would think the LIE would be everything on that shot yeah it’s going to be tough to control the landing spot there probably going to have to land that On The Fringe if yeah Green’s going to be too far there like you said it slopes very hard back to front as uh Ryan was telling us you know coming from Florida she’s not quite used to the the density of the rough up here in the north but that shot from behind the green will be a tester Yeah Tim and I chatted about that earlier the adjustment from Bermuda to uh Bon all the players that are coming from all over even you know as far as the west coast and the East Coast um South and and North so um The Bermuda to Bent adjustment I was telling Tim is definitely uh I think it’s harder than going from B to Bermuda in my playing experiments but um tricky nonetheless see the flag uh waving at a pretty good clip I think the wind has picked up a little bit over the last hour or so yep it looks like uh I see a head cover I see a driver so that’s how you know it’s a cart path drop card path drop nearest point of relief not closer to the hole looking for a good place yep those drops are always so problematic especially in in this kind of rof I mean you never know what you’re going to get but that one looked like it settled down a little bit yeah in my experience I think the the knee high drop lends to a little bit worse lie than the shoulder High I’m not sure why I think I I think shoulder I feel like I got better bounces but I kind of think you’re right about that and I’m not really sure why that is um I guess if you drop it from shoulder height you get a bigger bounce and it may land a little softer on the rebound right yeah when you drop it from your knee it kind of justs there yeah doesn’t bounce at all you put it down by your knee and just throw it down there a little bit yep we cannot see that ball so I would imagine that is probably what happened oh very nice hold down now oh oh man the wind green yeah that was downwind downhill from the rough mhm got some good altitude on it yeah it looked like solid contact just couldn’t get it to slow down once it got on the green so at least the ball is on the up slope and we hope he’ll be able to pop it up there close and save a bogey y we have seen one sand save from here earlier this afternoon so hopefully we can make it a few more I wonder if anybody hit it in that pond on 18 did you see anybody go in there we didn’t see anybody um nope doesn’t mean it didn’t happen because on covering 16 uh but did not see any we saw uh one that was close yeah one that was close but nothing in the water but it does sneak up on you that’s for sure again good contact there out of the bunker really nice come on down that’s really good a tester but that’s good yep like we’ve said we’ve seen a lot of putts hold from that spot specifically this green as well for all right Dan so I think it’s safe to say it’s a two horse race here at this point Jarrett fols at four over Ryan Jackson at five and then we got a couple seven overs sprinkled in there and eight over but still some really really solid golf here today and this weekend at cogill oh absolutely absolutely and we’re not positive if uh if Jarrett is through 17 he’s through 17 so he’s got 18 to go needs a par to win yep yeah Jarrett according to his scorecard did make a par on 17 at 490 yard par five so he will have a 319 yard Par Four on 18 to finish up and like you mentioned a par will secure the win for him yep and fault still has the te no surprise there Jared shared with us that he likes to play golf with his Dad and brothers and he has lots of fun trash talking so I wonder if we’ll see see any of that here yeah I think he’s more concerned about getting one down the middle here right center maybe would be even better but yeah part of win and on the te got that little misdirection in his back swing I don’t know how pleased he’s going to be with that yeah that’s going to be up he got a good piece of it he’s not that far from the green no matter where he is he also mentioned that he’s just happy to be here and play so that’s always nice to see for all right so after a slight delay with the card path drop the Snyder Matthews and Hasty group is finishing up here on 18 green and your leader of the overall division will be making his way up to the Fairway this is for the Sandy oh oh boy boy that took off to the left didn’t it yeah looks like it started never really had a chance unfortunately just a little too far left in that start line but nonetheless still a very impressive bunker shot oh boy not the way you want to finish no that was a good put let see if he can knock back knock down the comebacker oh just a brutal lip out well that cup was no fun for anybody all right and they’re heading to scoring finalize their scorecard here for the final day of the championship like you mentioned Dan lots of red shirts there wasting no time back in the Fairway trying to make their way onto the green here at 18 we’ll see where Jared folz wound up well there you go all right right ref not thrilled with that shot came up well short that had to be a brutal lie there I I can’t imagine him from that close not getting it a little closer to the green but uh that’ll be an up and down to win yeah yep there are definitely some Shamrocks and some clovers in that rough so like we said the live must have been troubling so he’ll be hoping for a fourleaf clover on this one Nice Shot there come on back hill checked up nicely that was clean contact that’s going to be Speedy all right here’s Jared Foltz third shot at the par 4 18th nursing a one-stroke lead up and down for the win wow pretty good leave right there below the hole maybe about eight feet or so eight to 10 yep on the right side of the hole though coming right up at it the Challenge from that spot will be to hit it hard enough to get it to the hole yep we’ve seen a lot of putts left short just because of how much that green slopes back to front all right some drama on the final hole this is what we were hoping for right can’t ask for much more there’s a nice shot of Jarrett walking up to the green that’s pretty cool great work by the cameraman there [Music] excuse me folks sorry about that I think he’s gonna have a bit of a weight here yep but Jared is no stranger to competing he mentioned that he started playing competitively when he was in sixth grade so cool to see that he’s still enjoying the competitive nature of golf for get in there oh yeah what a great putt read it perfectly great way to finish great way to end on 18 and even better way to end the tournament just crept in over the front beautiful Pace great read good finish all right here’s the one we came to see right yep folz lining his butt up here for the win of the overall division oh boy that was a good putt speed was just right just not quite enough break so we have a tie for the overall lead the result is pending scorecards but it looks like Jarrett fult is actually your overall Champion final result will be coming up next so one more group left to play another good putt there at 18 Jared Foltz gets the handshake he’s absolutely the men’s Champion I think we’re going to have to check the scores to see exactly who the overall winner is it’s between him and and Ryan Jackson you know if I was counting right I was pretty sure he made five on that hole short in two on in three and two thought I saw him pitch out but I my eyes could have been deceiving me I’ve been in the booth for a few hours now so um but he’s giving the handshakes either way the the final result will be pending uh scoring anyway so well played in any event yep as it stands now and to complete the championship Evan Matias Rick oldo and Philip kamak final group that’s a nice shot there from the rough going to find the front portion of that green very nice that angle you can see a little bit more how just how much it comes back to front all right we’re going to finish watching the golf but we’ve received confirmation from the senior communications director that Jared fultz did indeed make a par I think Dan and I must have been seeing a different screen but um in any event congratul ulations to Jared fultz and winning the men’s overall and the overall Championship as well as Ryan Jackson and the women’s overall and all the other classification winners but we’ll get you back out here to complete the round end of the round [Applause] of mil for up for all right we are finishing up the golf the final group on the putting surface it’s a nice lag putt but have a short distance clean that up all these players have done such a great job today and I just can’t reiterate enough how much of a pleasure it’s been for college golf Network to get to work with cdga and help produce the Chicago adaptive open uh it’s been a pleasure to be joined with the Chicago icon uh although OB he might not admit it but um working with Dan has been a true pleasure and as well as everyone else the cdga I’d also like to thank all of the crew um cameraman philli Andrew Nick Ryan Liam hayatt as well as media and photography Allison and Ava who have been here um along with Robert as well so uh we’re just finishing up the golf here and then we will get you out to an interview with the overall Champion Jared fultz for all right uh waiting patiently by the side of the 18th green J Jared Foltz but I guess you don’t mind waiting to hear the fact that uh you’re the overall champion and the men’s champion in the inaugural Chicago adaptive open congratulations Jared thank you thank you I I honestly didn’t think um you obviously obviously think you always have a chance but after yesterday I put myself in a tough spot um I had no idea what the leader board was at um so I just try to go out there and play Golf and fortunately well you did and you told us that driving is your strong suit in golf was that your t- ball right there in front of the green yeah yeah I I uh I had some adrenaline I be honest I had a good par save on 17 where I didn’t really deserve it to be honest um and I I full sided the driver and ripped it and felt good one of the best driv I would say so that thing was downtown and then um it was pretty easy par from that that point on but uh you knew what you had to do I’m assuming or did you know you didn’t know huh I I had no idea I had no idea where the score was at um at the start of the day I felt like I kind of put myself out of it so I just told myself go out there have fun play a good golf and add it up at the end and something I’ve been working know my game kind of taking the pressure out of it taking a fun having more fun um I always tell myself and my players pressure the privilege and just go out and have fun and I feel like you really did it sure paid off for you um what does it mean for you uh to play in these events against uh great competitors and and people of you know similar disabilities that uh that still love the game of golf are able to go out there and compete at the level that you do yeah I think first and foremost just shows that golf is a game for everyone that’s something I’ve been saying uh since I started these events um golf is a game for everyone we’ll find a place for you if you today volun um and for me personally I was a college golfer and I wasn’t going to go pro um so um this was my uh this was my chance to continue competing which I love get you but I love it that’s why I do it and I can’t gr but for the opportunity to play in these events to have a chance to compete yeah it’s a dream come true all these guys are awesome a lot of really good players spoken like a true golfer Jared thanks for your time and congratulations again the overall champion and the men’s Champion here at the Chicago adaptive open congratulations again yes sir thank you so much all right we’re going to take another short break and come back with Robert Marion the executive director of the Chicago District Golf Association going I never thought that after tell the players that snow was either that snow was either casual water or Le impediment oh he won okay well let’s go time to go home God turn e e e welcome back to our broadcast of the inaugural Chicago adaptive open uh competition is wrapped up we have our winners uh there are a lot of winners on this golf course today and one of them uh didn’t pick up a club all day he’s the executive director of the Chicago District Golf Association Robert Marion uh Robert uh this is initial an initial Venture for you guys um now that the smoke is clearing and the dust is settling how do you think it went this weekend I’m not sure it could have gone much better I mean the the host site here with the gem family and uh condition of the golf course was fantastic and their staff uh the number of volunteers that we had come out wearing all the red shirts of course our own directors our staff and especially the players you know from all over the country coming in and actually a picture perfect day today so um I think for the inaugural event competition as it was was good a lot of camaraderie out there among the players of course that goes without saying um now that you’ve been able to host an event like this and I know uh the US AG is moving into your building shortly uh where do you go from here with regards to Adaptive golf with the cdga well we hope we can build on it uh you know we go back 80 years from when our foundation was first uh founded in 1944 using golfs a therapeutic tool to work with veterans uh coming back from World War II uh who acquired disabilities so in one sense this is not new for us but in another sense it is because of a a Championship uh so our hope is that we’ll be able to build on this we’ll probably get together the next couple days put our notes uh all on paper and uh talk to the gem sex about you know can we come back here next year and start looking at ways to make this bigger and better with the hope that maybe in the not too distant future the usj will bring the uh National adaptive open here which would be a great thing and uh we think that this is a good starting point to show couldn’t agree more with what you just said uh again we’re going to let you go but congratulations on a great weekend and uh we wish you the best in the future uh in further Endeavors with adap of golf I think it what about as well as it possibly could have well thank you and we we thank the college uh gol Network for being here and Dan for you sitting in and uh and being on on everything this afternoon so we think it went well thank you Robert Robert Marion the executive director of the Chicago District Golf Association and I think that’s going to do it for us yes thank you Dan it it’s been a pleasure truly working with you and the cdga and uh we’ll hope you all join us next time on the next college golf network broadcast and we hope to be back here at cogill next year all right Mike thank you very much and thanks thanks for watching everybody we hope to see you next time e
2 Comments
Thanks for devoting the time and effort to broadcast the event!
Thank you! Your coverage was a joy to watch!