Cerebral palsy forced Delaney Bartling to retrain as a lefty golfer. On July 6, the 17-year-old made her debut in the fifth edition of the U.S. Adaptive Open Championship. The event, which is unfolding at the Woodmont Country Club’s South Course in Rockville, Maryland, saw her compete in the Coordination Impairment category against a field of 96. Although she missed the cut after round 2, her story is one of struggle. She opened up about the hardships she faced while playing golf during a conversation with Andy Stevenson of the Golf Channel before the event began.
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“I started [playing golf] because of my father. He started playing golf, and after a while I started playing. And growing up, I tried multiple sports, [but] because of CP, not a lot of them worked, [physically] or just how the sport was. And golf was a sport that I didn’t really have to modify or change. So, then I got the bug, and then…
“My CP affects my right side, arm down. And so I was supposed to be a righty, but over time, I kind of had to retrain myself to become a lefty because my right side was affected. With a lefty, when I come through, I tend to sometimes be off balance. My right grip is weaker. So, it’s kind of like support in a way, but my left side is the main support system.
“It’s the left side essentially driving everything, and the right’s just there for the show.”
Despite those challenges, Bartling carded rounds of 103 and 107 to finish at +66 (210). While her performance may not have topped the leaderboard, considering everything she had battled through, it deserves a different perspective. CP is a permanent movement and posture disorder caused by abnormal development of, or damage to, a baby’s brain. It affects muscle control, coordination, and balance.
The condition makes everyday life challenging, so you can imagine how difficult it is to compete in golf at this level. Yet the 17-year-old still qualified for the event at Woodswort Country Club. Earlier this year, she also finished runner-up at the Metropolitan Golf Association Adaptive Open Championship. Bartling isn’t the only golfer competing with cerebral palsy at the U.S. Adaptive Open.
Kipp Popert, who tops the disabled world rankings and is leading the U.S. Adaptive Open, also lives with a form of cerebral palsy. Canada’s Kyle Miller became the first golfer with cerebral palsy to compete in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event at the ATB Financial Classic in 2017. The sport is filled with similar examples. 54-year-old Billy Fryar, who is paralyzed from the waist down, also competed in the U.S. Adaptive Open.
Their stories prove that even the biggest challenges in life don’t have to stand in the way of pursuing greatness. And that is something Zachary Larose knows well.
Meet Zachary Larose, who lost his leg 32 years ago
35-year-old Larose lost his leg in a lawnmower accident when he was just three years old. He had to re-learn how to walk at Shriners Children’s New England after being fitted with his first prosthetic. Like Bartling, he tried other sports, adaptive hockey and baseball, growing up. However, he eventually settled for golf.
And when the USGA announced the Adaptive Open, it inspired him to return to the sport. Larose, a father of two who works in finance, qualified for the championship for the first time in 2024. The fifth iteration of the tournament was his second time competing in it. Because of his condition, he played in the lower-limb impairment division but missed the cut.
Clearly, this year’s Adaptive Open has many inspiring stories, which might have gone unnoticed had it not been for the tournament.
