Somewhere near the Great Smoky Mountains, many hours after they’d left home in Bigelow, Ark., Billy Fryar and his wife Gena stopped to take a break so he could talk to a reporter on the phone. An overnight stay awaited them in Roanoke, Va., and then they\u2019d make the final push to reach their destination\u2014Rockville, Md., where the 5th U.S. Adaptive Open Championship began on Monday at Woodmont Country Club.<\/p>\n
Billy is an avid competitive golfer who became paralyzed from the waist down in a rollover truck accident in 2000. He was ejected from his vehicle and suffered broken bones in both of his shoulders, along with seven ribs, punctured both lungs, crushed four vertebrae and remained in a coma for 31 days. He was incredibly fortunate to survive, and his reaction? \u201cThe man upstairs was watching out for me. He\u2019s got some very big plans for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
That way forward has included he and Gena crisscrossing the country for the last eight years to spread the gospel about the benefits and joys of playing adaptive golf. What sets them apart from anybody else on the highway is the SoloRider golf cart they pull in a 6-by-10 trailer. The Fryars rarely leave home without it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cart becomes a part of you,\u201d Billy explained. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like playing golf in your own shoes. You\u2019re strapped to this thing being paralyzed, so your DNA is on that cart. It\u2019s kind of your identity.\u201d<\/p>\n
This will be the third U.S. Adaptive Open and first in three years for Fryar, 54, who played in the first two years it was held at North Carolina’s Pinehurst Resort. He joins a total field of 96 golfers who either earned exemptions through past Open achievements or reached the championship through eight qualifying tournaments. They will compete in eight categories: impairments of upper limbs, lower limbs, multiple limbs, vision, coordination, intellectual, multiple-limb amputees, seated players and short of stature.<\/p>\n
In the inaugural year of the U.S. Adaptive Open in 2022, the golfers wowed spectators with their ability to not only adjust their impairments to the golf course but also excel at the game. Seeing people, for example, with one leg balance themselves to hit a pure shot was extraordinary, as were so many of the other scenes. Since that first year, the visibility of the tournament and adaptive golf has grown tremendously. And while there were good stories told in print and broadcasting in the early years, the event has risen to another level, with now three hours of dedicated final-round coverage on Golf Channel (July 9, 1-4 pm. ET), made possible by the USGA\u2019s partnership with Deloitte.<\/p>\n
Fryar, currently the No. 4-ranked U.S. adaptive golfer in his category, was coming off rotator cuff surgery in January and wasn\u2019t sure that he\u2019d be ready to compete in an Adaptive Open qualifier by May. After all, he plays with only his right arm because his left shoulder has \u201ctoo much hardware\u201d from his accident. But his recovery went well, and Gena pushed and pushed him to enter. He ended up shooting 80 to have the third-best qualifying score in the country in the seated division, and he is thrilled to be going back to the tournament he says offers in the best adaptive competition in the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the biggest stage in adaptive golf,\u201d Fryar said. \u201cBecause of the cameras, the sponsors, the accolades we get\u2014that\u2019s what makes it so special.\u201d<\/p>\n