PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Larry Celano, who also goes by “The Seated Golfer,” has traveled far and wide for adaptive golf tournaments. “I’ve been to Philadelphia, Florida, Texas and Georgia,” he said. This week, the Chandler resident is playing a home game, teeing it up in the inaugural Arizona Adaptive Open Championship at Papago Golf Club […]
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Larry Celano, who also goes by “The Seated Golfer,” has traveled far and wide for adaptive golf tournaments.
“I’ve been to Philadelphia, Florida, Texas and Georgia,” he said.
This week, the Chandler resident is playing a home game, teeing it up in the inaugural Arizona Adaptive Open Championship at Papago Golf Club in Phoenix.
“I just love Arizona,” Celano said. “Naturally, I live here, but everything I do, I breathe, I live Arizona. I love the Arizona Cardinals, I love all the sports teams. And when they actually put it on the schedule, I was just ecstatic because now people get to come to our hometown and see what Arizona is all about. And then see how the adaptive community is thriving here.”
The adaptive community is wide-ranging.
While the 36-hole tournament hosted by the Arizona Golf Association will crown an overall men’s and women’s champion, the 60 golfers competing are divided into 15 divisions, each with its winner—those classifications group people with similar physical or intellectual impairments.
“It completely levels the playing field,” said University of Arizona student William Valkner. “I mean, there’s no excuses anymore. You know, playing with all your able bodied friends, you got that little excuse. Now you don’t anymore.”
“I tried about every sport growing up,” said Cassie Sengul, a golfer with cerebral palsy. “But golf was low impact. It was great walking the course, cause my disability, I really need to make sure I stay loose. So it was just a great outlet. I just love nature, so it was like perfect for me.”
Sengul came to Phoenix from Virginia. Golfers came from all over the United States and Canada because Arizona is still one of only about ten states with a sanctioned adaptive open championship.
Each competitor has a unique story and disability, but there’s a real shared sense of belonging in these events.
“Being disabled since I was 20, you don’t always get that feeling [of belonging],” said Celano. When everybody comes out here, it’s a camaraderie. We love golf.”
“We’re all growing the game here,” said Sengul. “These girls and guys have become such good friends. I talk to them all the time when we’re not playing and it’s so fun to be with them. You can only be with them a few times a year, so it’s really just about the friendships and how we’re all changing this game, we all want to do it together.”
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