Tom Kim admitted he missed the anonymity of playing in tournaments without widespread television coverage after an embarrassing incident at Oak Hill.

Kim unwittingly provided the viral moment of day one of the US PGA Championship after an errant tee shot on the par-four sixth, his 15th of the day.

The world number 19 thought he could play his ball from the edge of the hazard but discovered the ground was considerably softer and muddier than he anticipated.

Television footage captured Kim emerging with his legs covered in mud and kept rolling as he decided he may as well find a cleaner part of the creek in which to wash his legs and trousers.

“I think the world has seen enough already of it,” Kim joked as he was shown the footage while speaking to Sky Sports following a round of 73.

“But I hit it over in the mud and I was hoping I was able to find it. I wasn’t able to find it and there was a moment where my legs were inside the mud and I wasn’t able to get myself out for a minute.

“I was talking to Joe (Skovron, his caddie) and said I might as well go in the water and wash myself off and I took a bath over there. I’ve had better days for sure.”

The incident took place shortly before play was suspended late on Thursday evening and Kim had hoped there would be no footage, adding: “I miss the days when I played on a Tour without cameras.”

A year after withdrawing before the start of the US PGA Championship following hand surgery, Bryson DeChambeau set the clubhouse target on a weather-delayed opening day at Oak Hill.

DeChambeau carded six birdies and two bogeys in an opening four-under-par 66 on a course that lived up to comparisons with Winged Foot, the venue for his dominant US Open victory in 2020.

Much has happened to the 29-year-old since then, including a feud with Brooks Koepka, being labelled an eight-year-old by his equipment manufacturer after complaining his driver “sucks” during the Open Championship and abandoning his unhealthy bulking regime.

DeChambeau also joined LIV Golf last year, five months after pledging his loyalty to the PGA Tour, while Thursday’s round included accidentally hitting fellow competitor Kenny Pigman – who was on the 18th tee – with a wild approach to the 17th.

“It’s a fantastic round of golf at Oak Hill,” DeChambeau said. “It’s a prestigious place. Very difficult golf course.

“As I was looking at it throughout the week, I’m like, man, I don’t know how shooting under par is even possible out here on some of the golf holes.

“But, luckily, I was able to play some really good golf, hit a lot of fairways, did my job and made some putts.

“It’s a different test (to Winged Foot) and a test that I’m willing take on. If you’re driving it well and hitting your irons well, you can play out here, but it can get pretty nasty pretty quick if you’re not hitting it straight.”

A combination of injuries, loss of form and joining LIV Golf – which cannot award world ranking points for its events – means DeChambeau has fallen from a career-high of fourth in the standings to 214th.

And he admitted there were times when he doubted whether he would ever be able to get back to the top of the game.

“How serious were they? There were times I doubted myself, severe doubts, but never got to a point where I was done. Maybe for like a day I was done, I’m just going to take a day off, whatever, and the next day I came back.

“The emotions have definitely fluctuated pretty high and pretty low, thinking I have something and it fails and going back and forth.

“It’s humbling. Golf, and life, always has a good way of kicking you on your you-know-what when you are on your high horse. It’s nice to feel this today.”

New Zealand’s Ryan Fox admitted his impressive opening round came as a surprise after detailing his extraordinary build up to the 105th US PGA Championship.

Fox fell ill during his Masters debut last month and withdrew after just nine holes of the following week’s RBC Heritage before flying home to Auckland.

The 36-year-old was diagnosed with pneumonia and took two weeks to recover, just in time to welcome the arrival of his second daughter Margot.

After enjoying a few days at home with his family, Fox then flew back to the United States and only arrived in Rochester on Monday morning, before also having to deal with an overnight frost which delayed Thursday’s early starters.

“It’s been an interesting last month,” Fox, who won twice on the DP World Tour last season, said with considerable understatement after carding a two-under-par 68.

“At the Masters I was pretty sick on the weekend. Tried to play Hilton Head, withdrew from there after nine holes, just feeling awful. Got home and got told I caught pneumonia, which pretty much explained why I felt so bad.

“Basically as soon as I got over that, our daughter was born, which was just over two weeks ago now. So I had a few sleepless nights and not a lot of practice.

“One of the days I was supposed to go to practice, Auckland flooded for the third time this year. So I think I drove around Auckland (covering) 27 kilometres in four hours in chaos.

“It wasn’t quite the ideal preparation for a major, but I was kind of hoping the fact I needed a break after a busy start to the year and being mentally fresh would have been important this week.

“It’s pretty surprising to have four weeks off and shoot 68, especially when the course is pretty brutal if you are out of position.”

As one of the early starters Fox left his hotel at 5.30am, meaning he only received notification of the delayed start when he arrived at the course.

“I was due to see my physio at 6am and I was going to have breakfast beforehand. Just as I got to the golf course, I got the text,” Fox added.

“I certainly would have liked another hour and a bit in bed, but I can go and have a pretty nice nap this afternoon, I think.”

Rory McIlroy was unable to hide his frustration after making a slow start to the 105th US PGA Championship.

Following a delay of almost two hours due to overnight frost, Oak Hill member McIlroy failed to register a birdie as he covered his opening nine holes in three over par.

Starting from the 10th, McIlroy began his bid for a first major title since the 2014 US PGA with five straight pars before badly mishitting his tee shot on the par-three 15th to find a bunker 30 yards short of the pin.

McIlroy hit a good bunker shot to nine feet but was unable to convert the par putt and also failed to get up and down from sand on the 17th, before taking a swipe at the tee marker on the 18th following another errant drive.

A third bogey of the day dropped McIlroy six shots off the early lead shared by 2011 US PGA champion Keegan Bradley, Sahith Theegala and Japan’s Kazuki Higa, who had earlier carded four birdies in a row from the 11th.

Play had been scheduled to get under way at 7am local time (1200 BST), but predictions of cold conditions overnight were accurate.

Tournament organisers released a statement early on Thursday morning which read: “Due to frost, all Oak Hill Country Club practice facilities and the golf course are currently closed.

“To protect playing surfaces, everyone on-site must stay off any grass and gates will not open until the frost clears.”

With the temperature slowly rising, officials announced the first group would tee off at 0850 from the first and five minutes later from the 10th, a total delay of one hour and 50 minutes.

The possibility of weather delays had been on the cards since the US PGA was moved from August to May in 2019, with Oak Hill having already been selected as this year’s venue.

Speaking on Tuesday, the PGA of America’s chief championships officer Kerry Haigh said: “Wherever the championship is (in May) appears as though it will bring some more variety to the weather than we’re used to having when we played in August.

“There is the possibility of a frost again on Thursday morning. We had a frost Tuesday morning. We had a couple of frosts last week. That may delay the start. Hopefully it won’t. But if it does, we’ll adapt.

“We’ve got the chance of rain on Saturday and hopefully clear on Sunday. That’s sort of the fun of golf. It’s an outdoor game and we can’t wait to see what Mother Nature brings as well.”

Frost has delayed the start of the 105th US PGA Championship, the year’s second major, at Oak Hill in Rochester.

Play had been scheduled to get under way at 7am local time (1200 BST), but predictions of an overnight frost proved accurate.

Tournament organisers released a statement early on Thursday morning which read: “Due to frost, all Oak Hill Country Club practice facilities and the golf course are currently closed.

“To protect playing surfaces, everyone on-site must stay off any grass and gates will not open until the frost clears.

“Starting times for round one will begin approximately 1hr and 15 minutes after practice facilities open.”

The possibility of weather delays had been on the cards since the US PGA was moved from August to May in 2019, with Oak Hill having already been selected as this year’s venue.

Speaking on Tuesday, the PGA of America’s chief championships officer Kerry Haigh said: “Wherever the championship is (in May) appears as though it will bring some more variety to the weather than we’re used to having when we played in August.

“There is the possibility of a frost again on Thursday morning. We had a frost Tuesday morning. We had a couple of frosts last week. That may delay the start. Hopefully it won’t. But if it does, we’ll adapt.

“We’ve got the chance of rain on Saturday and hopefully clear on Sunday. That’s sort of the fun of golf. It’s an outdoor game and we can’t wait to see what Mother Nature brings as well.”

Matt Fitzpatrick insists he will relish the challenge of a “brute of a golf course” as he bids to claim a second major title in the US PGA Championship.

The renovated East Course at Oak Hill is set to provide the world’s best players with a severe test, with Robert MacIntyre describing it as an “absolute monster” and the toughest course he has ever played.

However, the 7,394-yard, par-70 layout – whose two par fives both measure over 600 yards – holds relatively few fears for Fitzpatrick, who played in the final group in the last round of the US PGA 12 months ago before winning his maiden major title a month later at the US Open.

“I think that final round (at Southern Hills) there was a lot of talk about me playing a little bit too fast, looking a bit rushed,” Fitzpatrick said.

“Obviously at the time you don’t see that and I only really had like a week afterwards before I was playing the next run of tournaments, so I kind of didn’t get much time to reflect on it.

“But then I think when the time came Sunday of US Open I felt like I knew exactly what to do.

“Statistically I didn’t even putt that well that week, so if I can play the same way again and putt as well as I know I can, then that’s also another level that I can kind of add to my performance.

“I think that’s kind of a big thing for myself that I feel like if I can do that, I know I can contend and win.”

Fitzpatrick was six under par in winning the US Open at Brookline and although he was 17 under before beating Jordan Spieth in a play-off at the RBC Heritage last month, a tougher test has always been his preference.

“I’ve said it multiple times, I hate it when tournaments are 25, 30 under par to win,” the world number seven said. “I don’t particularly feel like I play well in those.

“I just like it when it’s hard and you’ve got to battle and par is a good score. I just enjoy it, for whatever reason.

“From the holes that I’ve seen, there’s so many tough, tough golf holes where you have to hit just good shots. I think that’s the great thing about it, it’s a proper test.

“It’s just a brute of a golf course. It reminds me a lot of Winged Foot when we played (the 2020 US Open) just because you miss the fairways there and it was just chipping out.

“Whoever does win this week, in my opinion, will thoroughly deserve it.”

The last seven men’s majors have all been won by players in their 20s, a streak started by Jon Rahm’s US Open victory in 2021 and continued by the world number one’s Masters triumph last month.

That may be a good omen for the likes of Rahm, Fitzpatrick and Open champion Cameron Smith – who will contest the first two rounds together – and also for world number two Scottie Scheffler.

But it is less encouraging for Rory McIlroy as he bids to claim a first major title since the second of his US PGA wins in 2014, the 33-year-old having followed a dispiriting missed cut in the Masters with a tie for 47th in the Wells Fargo Championship.

Jordan Spieth, who needs to lift the Wanamaker Trophy to complete a career grand slam, looked on course to compete at Oak Hill after withdrawing from last week’s PGA Tour event due to “severe pain” from a wrist injury.

Captain Zach Johnson insists the possibility of LIV players making the US Ryder Cup team is currently “not even a discussion item”.

American players remain eligible for the biennial contest despite being banned or resigning from the PGA Tour in the wake of joining the Saudi-funded circuit.

Six players will qualify automatically for the team and Johnson will select six wild cards, with Brooks Koepka (22nd) the highest-ranked LIV player following his share of second place in the Masters.

Asked ahead of the US PGA Championship how much he had thought about LIV players making the team, Johnson said: “We’re at a point right now where it’s not even a discussion item.

“There’s maybe a couple guys that have come close to securing their spot in the top six, but when it comes to picks it’s not even on my radar, especially given how many points are still out there, whether you’re talking about major championships or elevated events or all of the above.

“I think it would be premature and almost irresponsible to even go into that. It’s not on my radar right now.”

Johnson also stressed he would not be placing too much importance on Koepka’s performance at Augusta National, or the fact that Dustin Johnson won the latest LIV event in Tulsa.

“He played really good that one week, but it’s one week,” Johnson said of Koepka. “He played great but there’s still a lot of golf between now and then.

“One of the factors that we’ve looked at over the years is what kind of form are the guys in when it gets close to the Tour Championship (August 24-27). I think that would be wise for me to look at.

“I remember playing really well one spring thinking, man, I’ve got this, I’m a shoo-in, and I didn’t make the team. There’s a lot of factors involved.”

Asked about his namesake’s form, Johnson added: “Really difficult for me to judge that. I don’t know the golf courses they’re playing. Never seen them. I’m not there on foot, in person.

“You’re talking about an individual whose resume is extremely deep and wide.

“He’s certainly in my generation one of the best players I’ve ever competed against, but it’s not fair for me to guess his true form or anybody’s true form that I can’t witness.”

Whoever does make the team, Johnson confirmed he will take all 12 players on a scouting mission to Marco Simone Golf and Country Club two and a half weeks before the Ryder Cup gets under way on September 29.

Jon Rahm hopes he can “ride the wave” of his brilliant form this season to more major success.

Rahm has won four times in 11 events in 2023, the most recent seeing him replace Scottie Scheffler as world number one after succeeding the American as Masters champion at Augusta National.

The former US Open champion is now halfway to completing a career grand slam and, with the majors coming thick and fast since the US PGA Championship moved from August to May in 2019, Rahm admits he is relishing the prospect of adding to his tally at Oak Hill this week.

“I’m confident. I feel good,” Rahm said. “It’s been a great year. It’s been an amazing year. I’m just hoping to keep adding more to it. It’s been a lot of fun, and hopefully I can keep riding that wave.

“There’s always little things we all want to improve, but I think at the end of the day it’s all what’s going on between the ears on the golf course more than technique at this point of the season.

“It doesn’t happen often that a player wins more than one major in a year, so it would be amazing to be able to join my name to that list. Latest to do it that I can remember was Brooks (Koepka), was it 2018?

“Before that Jordan (Spieth) in 2015. It just doesn’t happen often so I would love to.”

Spieth needs to win the US PGA to complete a career grand slam, although he is doubtful this week with a wrist injury, while Rory McIlroy’s latest attempt to become the sixth player to have won all four majors ended with a dispiriting missed cut in the Masters.

Asked about his own prospects of joining golf’s most exclusive club, Rahm said: “Obviously if I were to win this week or the Open Championship it really becomes a true reality, but winning two majors is not easy, and picking which ones you win is a little ludicrous to think about.

“I think obviously winning the grand slam would absolutely be amazing, but I think, without sounding too conceited or arrogant, I’d rather focus on the number of majors you win than having the grand slam per se.

“Obviously it would be amazing, but the more you put yourself in the position to be able to win majors, the more likely you might be to get it done.

“But it’s a very small number of players to do it, last one being Tiger (Woods). It’s obviously not an easy thing to accomplish.”

A subdued Rory McIlroy admitted he has been working on lowering his expectations ahead of the 105th US PGA Championship following his miserable Masters experience.

McIlroy spoke confidently of having all the ingredients to win a green jacket and complete the career grand slam ahead of the year’s first major at Augusta National, with Tiger Woods even claiming it was just a matter of time.

Yet while Woods played through the pain barrier to make a record-equalling 23rd consecutive cut before being forced to withdraw, McIlroy made an early exit without speaking to reporters following a second round of 77.

The world number three then withdrew from the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head, meaning he missed his second ‘designated event’ of the year on the PGA Tour and lost 25 per cent of his Player Impact Program bonus (£2.4million).

McIlroy felt the break was necessary for his “mental and emotional wellbeing” after a taxing 12 months in which he juggled on-course competition with his role as an unofficial spokesman for the PGA Tour in its battle against LIV Golf.

And he tellingly revealed that he had allowed himself to think about becoming just the sixth player to have won all four major titles after shooting five under par on the back nine of his Wednesday practice round at Augusta.

It was a complete contrast on Tuesday at Oak Hill, where questions related to LIV Golf received short shrift but he tellingly revealed what he was working on with regards to the mental side of the game.

“Less expectations,” McIlroy said. “Just sort of trying to be in a good spot with taking what comes and not thinking about things too much, not getting ahead of myself.

“Just trying to go out there, play a good first hole of the tournament, and then once I do that, try to play a good second hole and just sort of go from there.

“Golf is golf, and it happens and you’re going to have bad days. It wasn’t really the performance of Augusta that’s hard to get over, it’s just more mental aspect and the deflation of it and sort of trying to get your mind in the right place to start going forward again, I guess.

“I think I’m close. I think I’ve made some good strides even from Quail Hollow a couple weeks ago.

“I’m seeing some better things, better start lines, certainly just some better golf shots. A little more sure of where I’m going to start the ball and sort of a more consistent shot pattern.

“But yeah, we’ll get out there and see and play. If I can execute the way that I feel like I can, then I still believe that I’m one of the best players in the world and I can produce good golf to have a chance of winning this week.”

McIlroy is a two-time US PGA champion and finished eighth in defence of his title at Oak Hill in 2013, since when he married Rochester native Erica Stoll and became a member of the golf club.

The 34-year-old is also a fan of the recent renovation of the East Course and believes discipline will be the key to success as he bids to end a major drought stretching back to the 2014 US PGA at Valhalla.

“You’ve got to keep it out of those fairway bunkers. They’re very, very penal,” McIlroy added.

“It’s a long golf course, and power and length is going to be an advantage. But I think even more of an advantage is making sure that you’re hitting into these greens from the fairways.

“It’s a combination of everything, but I think discipline is going to be a huge factor this week.”

Justin Thomas says he is starting to see “a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel” as he heads into his US PGA title defence.

Both of Thomas’ major victories so far have come at the US PGA – 2017 and 2022 – but he has arrived at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester following a first missed cut in eight Masters appearances last month.

The 30-year-old American’s highest finish anywhere this year was fourth at the Phoenix Open, with the Valspar Championship providing Thomas’ only other top-10 result.

He is a 20-1 shot to land a third US PGA crown, although he was encouraged by his display at the recent Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina.

“How you learn is failure and negatives, and I feel like I’ve had a great opportunity for a lot of learning the past couple of months this year,” Thomas said.

“I am starting to see a little bit of a light at the end of the tunnel.

“There are going to be days where 70 might be the best that I have that day, but it’s sure better than 71, or 75 might be the best I have that day, but it’s better than 76. That’s just kind of how I have always been taught.

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“How I described it for a couple months is, I’ve never felt so far and so close at the same time.

“That is a very hard thing to explain, and it’s also a very hard way to try to compete and win a golf tournament.

“That’s how you get out of it, just playing your way out of it and hitting the shots when you want to and making those putts when you need to.

“Then your confidence builds back up, and next thing you know you don’t even remember what you were thinking in those times.

“I felt like I showed a lot of really good signs in Charlotte (Wells Fargo).”

Thomas played a practice round on Monday, and his first impressions of Oak Hill backed up what he has been told.

“I came out (on Sunday), just with wedges and putter and walked all 18 holes and just hit chips and putts around the greens,” he said.

“I actually played the golf course (on Monday) in its entirety, and it’s everything that I had heard about. It’s a tough test.”

Curtis Strange believes Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler have separated themselves from their rivals and backed an “intense” Rahm to enjoy a stellar career.

Rahm is top of the world rankings after four wins from 11 events in 2023, including succeeding Scheffler as the Masters champion after claiming his second major title at Augusta National.

Scheffler made a successful title defence in the WM Phoenix Open and also won the prestigious Players Championship at Sawgrass, leaving him just behind Rahm in the rankings but a full two points clear of Rory McIlroy in third.

The leading pair are unsurprisingly vying for favouritism ahead of the 105th US PGA Championship at Oak Hill, where Strange won the second of his back-to-back US Open titles in 1989 and will be on commentary duties for ESPN.

“They’re first and second in damn near every category,” Strange said of Rahm and Scheffler.

“Then when you look at wins there’s four and two, and top fives are equal and top 10s are equal. Who’s best? Whoever shoots the lowest score that day.

“How do you split hairs when they’re both so doggone good and both separated themselves from the rest of the field at this point in time.

“With all due respect to Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm to me when he started on the tear earlier this year, I thought to myself he’s a guy that could be one of the few guys in the history of this game that could win eight or nine tournaments in a year.

“The last guy to do that is Tiger Woods and I believe the guy to do that before him was Vijay (Singh).

“How can he win eight or nine tournaments a year? He physically has the strength. He’s a mountain of a man. He’s so strong.

“He mentally has the focus and the intensity to last through that 12-month period and to stay on top of his game. Then he’s got the talent. He’s got the length off the tee. When he gets on a stretch putting, he’s tough to beat.

“Scottie could do that. I just think Jon has a bit more intensity to hang in to do that over the course of 10 to 12 months.”

Asked how many majors he thinks Rahm is capable of winning, Strange added: “It’s impossible to predict (but) there’s certainly huge potential for a guy like that.

“Again, I like to think of his intensity. He doesn’t look like he’s going to win some and back off and get comfortable. He looks like he’s got an inner drive to do the best he can over a 20-year career.

“At the Masters he looked dominant. Strength shows its face so many different ways, and to me it showed it particularly when the weather got really cold and nasty on Friday and Saturday.

“His strength and his ability to hit the golf ball showed well during some of those difficult times.”

Rory McIlroy was right to take a break after his miserable Masters experience in order to avoid a destructive trip down a “rabbit hole”, according to double US Open champion Curtis Strange.

McIlroy did not speak to waiting reporters after a second round of 77 at Augusta National brought a premature end to his latest bid to win a green jacket and complete the career grand slam.

The world number three then withdrew from the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head, meaning he missed his second ‘designated event’ of the year on the PGA Tour and lost 25 per cent of his Player Impact Program bonus (£2.4million).

McIlroy felt the break was necessary for his “mental and emotional wellbeing” after a taxing 12 months in which he juggled on-course competition with his role as an unofficial spokesman for the PGA Tour in its battle against LIV Golf.

Strange, who won the second of his back-to-back US Open titles at Oak Hill, venue for the 105th US PGA Championship, said: “I wouldn’t try to advise him on anything because I’m not privy to what he’s feeling right now, but I can only imagine.

“You put in so much energy to try to peak for a tournament like in April, the Masters, and you don’t play well. Why that is, I don’t know.

“Then frustration sets in, and you want to get away for a week or so, so you withdraw the next week. We’ve all gone through that.

“As much as you might love Harbour Town and Hilton Head, you withdraw because you’ve got to get yourself together and you know you’re starting to go down a rabbit hole that you don’t want to go very far down because it’s tough to climb back out.

“I feel for him because I think this LIV conversation the last year and a half, maybe two years, with him being somewhat of the voice and being involved in the schedule and the meetings and the phone calls, I think it’s taken a lot away from his golf.

“I think exhausted is the wrong word, but it’s fatigued him a bit.

“When you leave this game just a little bit focus-wise, it will affect you. He said after the Masters he’s looking forward to just getting back to playing golf, and hopefully that’s the case.”

McIlroy was defending champion the last time the US PGA was played at Oak Hill in 2013 and finished in a tie for eighth, but has since become a member of the club as his wife Erica grew up in Rochester.

Asked if that could work to his advantage, ESPN analyst Strange added: “Oh, I think you look for anything.

“The entire family will be there in more a comfortable atmosphere. It certainly won’t hurt him, put it that way.”

A third round 63 catapulted rookie Austin Eckroat into a share of the lead heading into the final round of the AT&T Byron Nelson near Dallas as home favourite Scottie Scheffler slipped back.

Eckroat, chasing his first PGA Tour win and a place in the USPGA Championship which begins at Oak Hill on Thursday, heads into the closing round tied with China’s Zecheng Dou and fellow American Ryan Palmer.

They hold a two-stroke cushion over Scheffler, former USPGA champion Jason Day, Si Woo Kim and Sweden’s Vincent Norrman with England’s Tyrrell Hatton among those a shot further back.

Eckroat mixed seven birdies and a double bogey in his front nine and had no doubts about what winning would mean.

“A lot of job security,” he said. “A lot of things come with winning a PGA Tour event and just hoping to get that done.”

Palmer missed an eagle putt on the last to take an outright lead while Dou, playing on his home course TPC Craig Ranch after settling in Dallas, fired a 64 after contrasting opening rounds of 63 and 70.

“There is a whole lot more golf to play, so I’m good in the position like this, creating more chances. That’s all I’m thinking,” he said.

World number two Scheffler had opened with a pair of 64s and missed a short birdie putt to take a two-shot lead on the 12th but squandered chances coming home before needing two goes to get out of a fairway bunker on the 18th.

Hatton, the second-highest ranked player behind Scheffler at 17, moved into contention with three closing birdies to round off a bogey-free 65 that leaves him alongside South Korean Sung Yang and Americans Richy Werenski and Patton Kizzire.

Ireland’s Brendan Lawlor edged out England’s Kipp Popert to win the inaugural G4D Open at Woburn.

The two leading players in the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability fought out a three-day battle over the Duchess Course before Lawlor’s final round of 75 gave him a winning total of three over par, two clear of Popert.

The 26-year-old’s victory means he will replace Popert at the top of the world rankings.

Lawlor, who recently highlighted the abuse he had received on social media after competing in a DP World Tour event, said: “It’s just an unbelievable feeling. It hasn’t really sunk in yet.

“I’ve put so much hard work into my game the last few months and it’s been trending really well. I just couldn’t get it over the line last year, so it’s been a while since I’ve been in the winner’s circle.

“I’m proud of myself just to get it done, really happy. I didn’t hit it well all day but I made a lot of clutch putts on the front nine.

“It’s been an incredible week. The volunteers, The R&A, DP World Tour, EDGA, everybody involved has put in so much work to get this championship done.

“Every player here, we felt like royalty this week. Hopefully this is the start and we’re going to have many more of these major events. Disability golf is definitely on the way up.”

Popert, who held a two-shot lead at one stage during the final round before making costly bogeys on the 13th and 15th, said: “It was great fun.

“This is the first-ever G4D Open and to be in contention I played really well. Brendan deserves it and I couldn’t be happier for him. Basically it was just one of those days where Brendan beat me. I’m still very happy.”

A field of 80 male and female players competed at Woburn across sport classes which cover various categories in Standing, Intellectual, Visual and Sitting.

American Kim Moore, who won the US Adaptive Open at Pinehurst last year, was the leading female player, finishing four shots ahead of Ireland’s Fiona Gray.

Former Ryder Cup captain Henrik Stenson has resigned his membership after the DP World Tour imposed further sanctions on players who competed in LIV Golf events without permission.

Suspensions of up to eight events and fines ranging from £12,500 to £100,000 for each breach of the Conflicting Tournament Regulation were handed to a total of 26 players.

Stenson, who was stripped of the Ryder Cup captaincy after joining the Saudi-funded circuit last July, told Golf Digest: “It is sad that it has come to this, but it is what it is and it certainly wasn’t unexpected.

“They left me with no other choice so I have resigned. That’s it. I don’t really feel like it will do any good to dig into this too deeply.

“I’m appreciative of what the tour has done for me over the years. But they have chosen how they want to view the future. And we have obviously done the same. Unfortunately, they don’t go together at this point.”

Stenson joins Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Richard Bland in resigning and they will not be eligible for reinstatement until they pay the fines. Suspensions will apply from that point.

The former Open champion said his fines were “anywhere between £50,000 and £75,000 per LIV event” but was reluctant to go into more detail.

“As was the case when I resigned the Ryder Cup captaincy, I have my views on a lot of things that have gone on,” he said.

“But out of respect for a lot of people and what they do – and even those I don’t totally respect – there is no point in me digging any deeper.

“There is less than half a year until the Ryder Cup so it is best I don’t say much other than to say I’ve resigned.”

In April, the Tour won its legal battle against 12 players who had appealed against being fined £100,000 and suspended from the Scottish Open for playing LIV Golf’s inaugural event in June 2022. Garcia is the only player not to have paid that fine.