Kipp Popert made a strong start in his bid to win the G4D Tour @ BMW PGA Championship for a third consecutive time as he held a share of the lead alongside Brendan Lawlor after the first round at Wentworth Club.
Since the inception of the G4D Tour in 2022, the West Course in Surrey has proven a happy hunting ground for the Englishman with victories on his two previous visits.
Popert, the world’s leading golfer with a disability, mixed five birdies with three bogeys in his opening two-under-par 71 on Monday, with Lawlor registering back-to-back birdies to match his score.
Their nearest pursuer is England’s Mike Browne, who made four birdies and four bogeys to card a level-par 73, with Australian pair Wayne Perske and Lachlan Wood a shot further back.
“Brendan was four under through nine, and I didn’t try to pressure myself to shoot really low on the back nine,” Popert said.
“I just thought if I could come in a couple, three under on the back nine and he goes and shoots six or seven (under) then I would be in touch tomorrow [Tuesday].”
Popert is aiming to win his third individual G4D Tour title of the season, having also won alongside Heather Gilks for Team England at the inaugural Nations Cup at The Belfry last month.
The 26-year-old, who edged out Lawlor to win the G4D Open, trailed his Irish rival at the turn on the opening day of the two-day event after cancelling out a birdie at the par-five fourth with a bogey at the ninth.
Playing partner Lawlor burst out of the traps with four front-nine birdies but quickly dropped those shots with a run of four consecutive bogeys from the tenth through to the 13th.
The more consistent Popert birdied three in a row after the turn and, despite bogeys at the 15th and 17th, he finished with a birdie as Lawlor drew alongside him with a late flourish.
