Hong Kong SAR, China: Kipp Popert has spent his life breaking down barriers. At this week’s Link Hong Kong Open, the Englishman has continued to show why he is such an inspiration.
Number one on the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD) table, Popert’s presence at Fanling marked the first time a golfer with disability has been included in the tournament field – in keeping with the tournament tagline, Link Hong Kong Open – Open for All.
Popert relishes his position as a role model for athletes with disability and on Friday at the Hong Kong Golf Club (HKGC) he took time out from the on-course action to meet with and train Hong Kong, China’s own Andreas Ma.
The 12-year-old Ma – winner of this month’s Japan Open Championship for People with Disabilities (arm impaired division) – was born with a congenital absence of his left hand and is an Ambassador of the Hand in Hand Association.
At the HKGC’s Driving Range, the pair shared a session that included tips for the youngster on how to work on his game and a chat about the future for both players in a game that is increasingly inclusive.
Popert said: “I get to meet kids that had the same dream as myself. I just try and be as good a golfer as I can and then when I get to meet people like Andreas, it’s just really nice for me because I know how much this game has done for me and how it helped me through tough times.
“It’s really good to be good at it, and it’s a lot of fun. So, I just try and instill that in them.”
The 25-year-old Popert – who played the Link Hong Kong Open on an exemption extended by the Hong Kong Golf Club – has long shared his dream of one day being able to compete full-time on one of the world’s top Tours and his message for Ma was that he was determined to keep forging ahead on that path.
“I’m going to hopefully achieve a lot in this game just by working hard every single day,” Popert said.
He also had an important message for young Andreas.
“I believe I can do a lot of good things and off the back of that, I’m going to make sure there’s a lot of tournaments for you, and prize money for you when you turn pro. I’m sure when you’re 18, hopefully you have a lot of opportunities in golf and I’ll see you looking at a lot of trophies. Then I’ll be very happy.”
After working on his game with Popert, and having taken in the action on day two of the Link Hong Kong Open, Ma revealed his own hopes for the future.
“When I’m older, I really want to be like Kipp. I want to be in the Hong Kong Open, and I want to be world number one,” said Ma.
The Hand in Hand Association was founded in 2019 as the first NGO in Hong Kong dedicated to children with Congenital Limb Differences (Symbrachydactyly), a rare condition that occurs in approximately one in 30,000 families in Hong Kong.
The Association was recently awarded the Global Advocate Grant by Amgen in recognition of its efforts, making Hand in Hand the first recipients of this grant in China.
