Two days of inspirational golf at the debut Indiana Adaptive Golf Championship held at Plum Creek in Carmel, Indiana, ended with Kyle Erickson, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, shooting a final round of 71 and thus securing the first-ever title in the Overall Men’s Division.
Erickson has been playing golf for most of his life, playing competitively as a junior, all through his high school years, and playing recreationally up until the start of COVID. Erickson went into the final round two strokes behind day one leader, Evan Mathias of Indianapolis, Indiana. However he was able to improve his final round by four strokes, birdieing three holes, and finishing day two at 1-under par, eventually closing out the Championship with a four stroke lead, +2.
“I was super consistent today and I made every putt inside of ten feet. I knew Evan was going to be tough because he hits the ball so far that he could eat it up on a course like this” said Erickson. “Consistency. I kept the pressure on him and I was just able to make all the putts”.
Erickson plays around 3-4 times a year, mostly in the upper MidWest, and was excited to compete in the Indiana Championship.
“The fact that Indiana Golf is stepping up to do this is awesome and every state should be taking part. I promise that this will become one of the biggest tournaments on the Adaptive Golf circuit because Indiana Golf did an amazing job putting this on” said Erickson.
Runner up, Evan Mathias, participated on the Men’s Golf team at Marian University and holds the ParaLong Drive Cup record at 398 yards. He was one of the 96 golfers to qualify for the Inaugural U.S. Adaptive Open in North Carolina, where he hopes to compete again next year.
“I think the National tournament was a level above what everyone was expecting. They really did treat us like it was a U.S. Open, so it was definitely nerve racking, and I think that’s where a lot of the higher scores came from” said Mathias.
Our Overall Senior Division Champion is Les Meade of West Lafayette, Indiana, who finished 80, 94. Meade has been playing golf for roughly thirty years and was more than enthused to find out about the Indiana Adaptive Golf Championship.
“I am thrilled that I found out about this tournament and that the IGA is hosting it. I can guarantee that I will see you again next year” says Meade.
Division Champions
Above Knee (G1) – John Bell
Arm-Assisted (G5) – 1st: Jonathan Snyder, 2nd: David Swartz
Arm-Unassisted (G4) – James Warren
Below Knee (G2) – 1st: Kyle Erickson, 2nd: Lucas Jones
Blind (G13) – Kenny Gentile
CP/MD (G8) – Robby Donarski
Multiple Leg (G3) – Evan Mathias
Seated (G9) – Steve Doubt
Short Stature (G14) – Ethan Crough
Overall Men’s Division
1st: Kyle Erickson
2nd: Evan Mathias
Overall Senior Division
1st: Les Meade