AZ GOLF Announces 2024 Arizona Adaptive Open Champ

Clinic and Tournament Scheduled for December 9-11 at Papago Golf Club

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. – The Arizona Golf Association is excited to announce the creation of the Arizona Adaptive Open Championship. AZ GOLF’s newest championship will feature the world’s best golfers with disabilities. The inaugural clinic and tournament is scheduled to take place December 9-11, 2024 at Papago Golf Club.

“Creating the Arizona Adaptive Open Championship is a massive step forward in advancing the game of golf in Arizona,” AZ GOLF Senior Director of Championships Logan Rasmussen said. “It is an incredible feeling to know that you are making a difference in people’s lives by doing this and we can’t wait to see the people of Arizona rally around this Championship.”

The creation of the Arizona Adaptive Open Championship aligns with AZ GOLF’s commitment to provide playing opportunities for all demographics, levels and abilities of golfers. While a few east coast Allied Golf Associations run adaptive golf championships, AZ GOLF’s initiative fulfills a need as the first west coast Association to run an adaptive golf championship. AZ GOLF’s objective to create its newest Championship runs concurrently with the USGA’s recent efforts, as they prepare to host the third U.S. Adaptive Open Championship this July.

AZ GOLF began internal discussions of hosting the Arizona Adaptive Open Championship last summer. Since then, the Association has undergone a process of research and discovery to ensure an authentic golf experience while decreasing limitations for players; those measures include having regular discussions with a group of local, adaptive golfers and visiting several other adaptive golf tournaments.

The three-day event will start on Monday, December 9th with a golf clinic for local attendees with disabilities. The championship will be contested over 36 holes of stroke play; the first round will take place on Tuesday, December 10th and the second round on Wednesday, December 11th. A full, 60-player field is expected; golfers with physical and intellectual disabilities who have a handicap index of 36.4 or lower are eligible to compete in the championship.

Great consideration was given to choosing a course that could meet the needs of the Arizona Adaptive Open Championship; several courses were considered, but Papago Golf Club emerged as the frontrunner. In addition to Papago’s central location, beautiful scenery and eagerness, the course has abundant experience hosting major events, including the Pac-12 Women’s Golf Championships, as well as several AZ GOLF events and USGA qualifiers.

“We are so honored to host the first Arizona Adaptive Open Championship,” Papago Golf Club General Manager Daryl Crawford said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to reinforce Papago’s golf mantra of “open to all.” A big thank you to the team at AZ GOLF for bringing this event to our community.”

As AZ GOLF continues to prepare over the coming months, there are multiple opportunities for the community to be involved in the inaugural event:

Donations: Those who wish to donate can fill out the Jotform. Donations will be sent to the Arizona Golf Foundation, AZ GOLF’s charitable arm, and utilized toward the event.

Volunteering: Volunteer sign-ups will be available on July 1st. Be on the lookout for more details on opportunities to volunteer at the Arizona Adaptive Open Championship. To learn more, contact Peg Tanner at peg@azgolf.org.

Partnerships: AZ GOLF is currently seeking out partnership opportunities and activations for the Arizona Adaptive Open. If you are interested in a partnership opportunity, please contact Preston McFarland at preston@azgolf.org. Partnership outreach will begin mid-June.