The inaugural G4D Tour Nations Cup takes place ahead of the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo, with five players making their regular tour debuts at The Belfry.
The G4D Tour is holding its first team event, with 12 of the world's best golfers with disability teeing it up at the storied Belfry, a four-time venue for team golf's greatest spectacle - the Ryder Cup.
Here, we take a look at the event and the players vying to lift the trophy over two days of action on Monday 26 and Tuesday 27 August.
The format
Six nations will come together to compete, with a male and female player from each of Canada, England, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and the United States representing their countries.
Scoring will be stroke play and day one will feature three groups of fourballs, with the lowest score from each team taken on each hole, while the format will switch to foursomes on the second day.
The tee times
| Day one fourballs | Day two foursomes |
|---|---|
| 08:30 | 08:36 |
| 08:45 | 08:48 |
| 09:00 | 09:00 |
The field
England
Kipp Popert needs little introduction as the most successful player in G4D Tour history returns to a happy hunting ground. Popert, born with a form of Cerebral Palsy called Spastic diplegia which impairs the muscular movement in his legs, is Number One on the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD) and has ten G4D Tour victories, including the last two individual editions of this event.
Heather Gilks is making her regular G4D Tour debut this week and like Popert has Cerebral Palsy, affecting both her legs and her left arm. The 19-year-old started playing golf with her mum Martine at Coventry Golf Club in England's West Midlands and has been a regular on the EDGA circuit since 2021. Heather, a 7.1 handicapper, made history this summer as she and Martine became the first mother and daughter to play in the same edition of the G4D Open.
Ireland
Brendan Lawlor is another player who will be familiar to most having developed an intriguing rivalry with Popert at the top of the disabled game. Born with rare bone disorder Ellis-Van Creveld Syndrome, characterised by a shorter stature and shorter limbs, Lawlor was the first disabled golfer to compete on the DP World Tour at the ISPS HANDA UK Championship in August 2020. His only G4D Tour win came at the 2023 G4D Open but he has six runner-up finishes.
Born from sporting stock, Fiona Gray played cricket and hockey for Ireland at age-level and when she took up golf got down to a three handicap during her time in the British Army, where she was Army Ladies Champion. A string of injuries began to take their toll and after 20 years in the armed forces, Gray had to take a medical discharge in 2014 and has now had ten operations on her knee. She made her G4D Tour debut at the 2023 Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed.
Canada
Kurtis Barkley, born with a curvature of the spine called scoliosis, has been a regular on the G4D Tour since its inaugural full season in 2022. He had two second-place finishes in that campaign and five from seven starts in 2023 as he looks for a maiden victory. The 36-year-old has not quite hit those heights in 2024 but enters this week seventh in the WR4GD.
Natasha Stasiuk knows some competitors took advantage of her autism when she was playing as a child but that has not stopped her from becoming a star of the disabled game as an adult. The 26-year-old, who plays off 4.9, has played in all three of the USGA’s US Adaptive Opens, is a five-time winner of provincial events in Ontario and three-time Canadian champion and represented her country in the Special Olympics in Berlin. She is making her G4D Tour debut this week.
The Netherlands
Mari Berkers came to golf not through family or friends but because business clients played the game and he has gone from strength to strength since first picking up a club in 2011. The 45-year-old has Cerebral Palsy which has affected the left side of his body, with his left arm and leg shorter than the corresponding limbs on his right side. He has represented his country before at the EGA’s European Team Championship for Golfers with Disability and the World Number 66 - making his regular G4D Tour debut after playing at the G4D Open - plays off a handicap of 2.5.
Daphne Van Houten is no stranger to the G4D Tour, having played in the inaugural event here at The Belfry in 2022, while she was also the first woman to to break into the top ten of the WR4GD in mid-2019. Still the top-ranked female in the game at World Number 28, Van Houghton - who has a back issue which was discovered at the age of 12 and plays off one - is the reigning women's champion at the G4D Open.
United States
Originally from the Philippines, Eliseo Villanueva moved to Hawaii as a 13-year-old and went into the US military soon after leaving school, going on to make 120 parachute jumps out of aircraft as a paratrooper. A severe injury to his dominant left arm on the training ground in 1993 is what has him playing disabled golf but did not stop him playing an active role in combat, and he only retired as an Army Civilian earlier this year. He credits golf with helping with his recovery from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and is the World Number 21 and a scratch golfer who has won the 2022 USDGA Championship and the Inaugural Florida Adaptive Open. He makes his G4D Tour debut this week.
Ryanne Jackson is making her second G4D Tour appearance this week having also played in THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson in April. She took up golf at the age of six and while she was a single-figure handicapper, fatigue was affecting her game. The cause was discovered when she was 19 via a muscular dystrophy diagnosis but she still maintains a 4.5 handicap and sits at 68 in the WR4GD. Last season she claimed one of the biggest titles in the game, winning the US Adaptive Open at Pinehurst.
Germany
René Schwenk was among the most highly thought of prospects in German junior golf, ranked in the top 20 in his homeland and top 50 in Europe before a tumour was discovered on his shinbone. The tumour was removed but when a second one was found near his knee, his knee and shinbone had to be removed leading to the use of a prosthetic. Since then the World Number 29 - who plays off 0.4 - has finished third in the European Championship for Golfers with Disability, played at the G4D Open and now makes his debut at a regular G4D Tour event.
Jennifer Sraga was born with Achondroplasia, which is commonly called short stature and results in shorter limbs. She was introduced to golf through her family and despite needing four operations on her ankles in a short period of time, she was representing her country before the age of 17. Now 24, the World Number 88 with a 5.1 handicap is a regular on the EDGA circuit and made her G4D Tour debut at the 2023 Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed.
