June 2024 - Making a Splash

Elite field, inspiring golf expected at inaugural Chicago Adaptive Open, June 29-30

Photos courtesy of the USGA
This article appeared in the June 2024 edition of Chicago District Golfer.
To read more Chicago District Golfer stories, head to our article archive.

Jonathan Snyder, a suburban Chicago resident who was born without a left hand, will be one of the individuals competing in the Inaugural Chicago Adaptive Open, June 29-30 at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club.

Jonathan Snyder still vividly recalls his first core golf memory. During a round on a par-3 course in his youth alongside his father and grandfather, Snyder topped his tee shot. He proceeded to use the same club – his grandfather’s 8-iron – for the second, which he holed from 120 yards for birdie.

Snyder’s next core golf memory will be made later this month when he competes in front of friends and family during the inaugural Chicago Adaptive Open, June 29–30, at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club’s Course No. 3. Snyder, who was born without a left hand, heads the suburban Chicago-based United States Adaptive Golf Alliance (USAGA) and played an integral role in collaborating with the CDGA to create the event.

“You can’t wipe the smile off my face,” Snyder, 42, said. “I’m so excited about it. I definitely need to create a way to calm those nerves and be able to get out there and compete at a high level.”

Format
The event will consist of the world’s best golfers with physical and intellectual disabilities competing across 15 different Sports Classifications based on their impairment category, including lower limb impairments, arm impairments, visual impairments, short in stature and intellectual disabilities. Each Sports Classification will receive $1,000 of the $15,000 purse, with $500 going to first place, $300 going to second place and $200 going to third place.

“This is going to be the first time where a purse is going to be provided for each one of the sport classifications,” Snyder, a regular competitor on the adaptive golf circuit, explained. “There’s definitely been a lot of buzz and excitement surrounding that.”

Ryanne Jackson, 2023 U.S. Adaptive Open Women's Overall Champion

Schedule
Competitors will begin the weekend on Friday, June 28 with practice rounds and a reception at Midwest Golf House across Archer Avenue from Cog Hill. Saturday, June 29 will feature the first round of play, with Sunday, June 30 marking the final 18-hole round and an awards presentation.

Snyder notes the late June date fits perfectly on the ever-growing adaptive golf schedule, as it will be held one week after the Georgia State Golf Association (GSGA) Adaptive Championship and roughly a week before the 3rd U.S. Adaptive Open at Sand Creek Station in Kansas.

“The excitement level is definitely starting to build, because it’s starting to feel like there’s really an adaptive golf season, where individuals travel from event to event to event,” Snyder explained. “The Chicago Adaptive Open fell perfectly into that time slot at the end of June.”

Field
Due to the purse and desirable date, top adaptive golfers from around the world are expected to compete. Among the 50 golfers expected to play as of mid-May were:

• Dennis Walters: A World Golf Hall of Famer, Walters’ world-renowned “Dennis Walters Golf Show” tour has inspired thousands. Walters, who is paralyzed from the waist down, will compete in the seated golfers category

• Ryanne Jackson: A Florida native, Jackson, 26, was the Women’s Overall Champion at the 2023 U.S. Adaptive Open at Pinehurst. Jackson, who was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at the age of 19, competed collegiately at Eastern Illinois University

• Evan Mathias: Born with congenital defects to both legs, Mathias has been on prosthetics since he was one year old. The Indianapolis native won the Overall Men’s Division in the Indiana Adaptive Championship in May, shooting 5 under through 36 holes and prevailing in a four-hole playoff.

• Tracy Ramin: A car accident in 1998 required an amputation of Ramin’s left leg below the knee. Since then, the Michigan resident has become an avid ambassador of the adaptive golf community and won the inaugural GSGA Adaptive Championship in 2019.

• Nancy Towers: A longtime CDGA member, Towers, 64, won the Overall Women’s Division crown at May’s Indiana Adaptive Championship. She competes out of the lower limb impairment sport classification.

“Although we’re all competing and trying to shoot the lowest score, the camaraderie that these volunteers and spectators will see amongst the players giving back to each other and encouraging each other…it really goes beyond words,” Snyder said.

Evan Matthias, 2024 Indiana Adaptive Championship Men's Overall Champion

Venue
Cog Hill, and specifically Course No. 3, are natural fits to host this historic event. Course No. 3 is navigable for players of all abilities and skill levels, while the Jemsek Family have been longtime supporters of adaptive golf.

“Not only to be able to have a competition [at Cog Hill], but the fact that they’re welcoming on an everyday basis, not just one weekend of the year,” Snyder said. “I think that's what makes having it at Cog Hill so special for the adaptive golf community.”

Spectating
Admission is free for spectators and the event will be live-streamed on YouTube via a collaboration with the media organization College Golf Network.

“Be prepared to be inspired,” Snyder said. “Inspired by a great group of individuals that are overcomers. They’ve overcome their challenges and they found joy in life through the game of golf and competitive golf.”

For full event information and live stream link, visit CDGA.org/ AdaptiveOpen.

Casey Richards is the CDGA’s senior director of communications and marketing. A graduate of Indiana and Illinois State Universities, he has worked for the Association since 2014.