The third annual Adaptive Golf Open is underway in Kansas, with golfers with disabilities from 32 states and 11 countries vying for the title. Competitors include a 20-year-old Utah golfer paralyzed by a skiing accident who will defend a title he won last year in the seated handicap category
Host Juana Summers:
This week, the USGA will host its third annual Adaptive Open Championship. Disabled golfers from 32 states and 11 countries gathered in Newton, Kansas, to compete for championship titles in various disability categories. A 20-year-old golf prodigy from Utah is hoping to win another championship two years after being paralyzed in a skiing accident. Journalist Greg Echlin has this profile.
GREG ECKLIN, BYLINE: In adaptive golf tournaments, golfers have physical and intellectual disabilities. Max Togisala Jr., the defending champion in the seated category, was injured in a skiing accident and was paralyzed. Last year he shot 70 in the second round, breaking the record for the lowest score by a seated player.
MAX TOGISALA JR: I go out just to experience it and just have fun and not have high expectations. But to win the title was a big shock to me.
ECHLIN: Two years ago, Togesala was looking forward to graduating high school and playing college golf. Instead, a skiing accident in Idaho changed everything except his passion for racing.
MAX TOGISALA JR: You can never have a perfect swing or a perfect shot. You’re always making progress in something, which I love.
ECHLIN: Togisala has been playing golf since she was 3 years old. Before the accident, he played basketball, baseball and football, but later chose golf. He watched the first televised U.S. Adaptive Open from his hospital bed. His mother, Amber, remembers the moment.
AMBER TOGISALA: He said, I’m going to play in that game next year. We just said, okay, okay, we’re going to make it happen. We don’t know how, but we’ll get there, you know?
ECHLIN: These days, Togisala straps into his electric car (a VertaCat). When he tees off, it lifts him into a standing position.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Meet you on the putting green.
MAX COOKING JR: Yes.
AKLIN: Amber says her youngest son has always been a quick learner. But his father, Max Sr., said he’s still surprised by his son’s transition to adaptive golf.
MAX TOGISALA SR: It was great learning how to swing with half his body, learning how to swing with the rig, the VertaCat he was using to help him get around the course.
Ehlin: Togesala said it took him about six months to perfect his sitting game as he worked to regain his confidence.
MAX TOGISALA JR: It feels weird to be competing in these races again because I’m still new to my accidents. So I just thought, what do people think of my swing now? What are they thinking?
ECHLIN: At this stage in his life, Togesala says skiing remains a passion while he works to perfect his swing. So a year after the accident, he returned to the same mountain in Idaho to ski in a seated position.
MAX TOGISALA JR: It was an experience. I would say it was a huge relief from the tough days I was going through and it was an exciting day.
ECHLIN: These are happier golf days.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Okay.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: Great. a good job.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Good top and bottom.
ECHLIN: Now, Max Togisala hopes his game will inspire others and help him win another title at the U.S. Adaptive Open.
For NPR News, I’m Greg Echlin in Newton, Kansas.
(SOUNDBITE OF KSI SONG, “VOICES (FEAT. OLIVER TREE)”)
Copyright © 2024 NPR. all rights reserved. Please visit our Terms of Use and Permissions page at www.npr.org for more information.
NPR transcripts are created by NPR contractors under emergency deadlines. This article may not be in final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio transcript.
