VILLAGE OF PINEHURST, N.C. – Simon Lee walked up to the podium in front a packed Player Hospitality tent and joyfully greeted the room. He then read a speech from his phone that brought the crowd to its feet.
“My special thanks go to my parents,” he said. “They pulled me out of darkness and made me walk through the light of the world.”
At the U.S. Adaptive Open, players competed in eight different categories. Lee, a 25-year-old professional from South Korea, was one of 10 players in the intellectual impairment category, having been diagnosed with autism at age 3. Lee finished the 54-hole event knotted at 3-under 213 with Felix Norman of Sweden, a 25-year-old with tuberous sclerosis who competed in the same category. Just last year, Norman had brain surgery to remove two growing “lime nodules.”
The pair squared off in a two-hole aggregate playoff, which Lee won by two thanks to a 20-foot birdie putt on the 17th that he said felt like a dream. After locking up the men’s division title, supporters doused Lee with water as he shrieked with glee.
“Today I played with my mind of thinking, I can do it, I can do it, I can do it,” Lee told the media after the round. While many of his answers took a good deal of time to formulate, those four words poured out with gusto.
Kim Moore, 41, won the women’s division by a commanding seven strokes thanks to a final-round 76. Born without a right foot and a severely clubbed left foot, Moore played collegiate golf at the University of Indianapolis. Her namesake Kim Moore Spirit Award is given to college golfers in all divisions who exemplify perseverance and high character.
“It’s pretty cool to be part of a little bit of history in golf,” Moore, “and it’s just very exciting for me.”
Moore had her father on the bag at Pinehurst No. 6 and said congratulations text messages from her players have poured in. In addition to being a college coach, Moore also became a PGA teaching professional so that she could specialize in teaching the game to those with adaptive needs.
“I just think just what has been seen this week around the world, around the country, is going to elevate the amputee community, the adaptive community, and it’s just pretty cool to see,” said Moore. “I think we’re going to have a lot of rise in participation. I hope that’s what this brings.”
A total of 16 players received copper medals for winning their respective impairment categories: arm, leg, intellectual,…
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