The G4D Open
New faces impress at The G4D Open ahead of final day in Wales
15 May 26
4 mins
Cameroon’s Issa Nlareb A Amang and Simon Seungmin Lee from the Republic of Korea both enjoyed superb second rounds to shine on their debuts at The G4D Open in Wales.
The pair signed for the first under-par rounds of the week over the Roman Road Course at the Celtic Manor Resort to take charge of the men’s event going into tomorrow’s final 18 holes. With England’s Kipp Popert – the number one player on the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD) – and two-time winner Brendan Lawlor in the hunt after the opening round, Nlareb A Amang and Seungmin Lee responded in some style on day two. On a day of better weather conditions, Nlareb A Amang, 35, recorded six birdies in a brilliant round of two-under 68 for a 36-hole total of one-over 141. Seungmin Lee, 28, went one better, posting a 67, highlighted with an eagle at the 9th and only dropping a shot at the last.Chasing pack
Seungmin Lee trails Nlareb A Amang by a stroke on two-over, with Lachlan Wood from Australia next best on seven-over – after he started with three birdies in his first seven holes. On an international leaderboard with the top nine all represented by different countries, Popert sits eight-over while Lawlor is nine-over alongside Kiefer Jones from Canada and Turkey’s Mehmet Kazan.
Issa Nlareb A Amang of Cameroon leads the way after round two of The G4D Open.
Nlareb A Amang was a professional player when, in 2018, bacterial meningitis led to a double leg amputation and severely damaged hands. The world number seven has since fought back to health and last month won the EDGA Tour Pas de Calais in France.
“I feel happy every day playing golf,” said the leader. “I enjoyed the round because yesterday I played so badly on the greens. Afterwards, I went to do some practice putting and this worked this morning.
“We'll see tomorrow. I'm happy because it will be my first time to play with Simon. My objective for this event was to see all the players. I'm in the world rankings but I don't know the players. I wanted to come here and play with the good players in the world this week. Tomorrow is another day where I'll try to give my best.”
Changeable weather
World number two Seungmin Lee, who is autistic, triumphed at the US Adaptive Open in 2022. He also won the 2025 ISPS HANDA Australian All Abilities Championship and the Glico Paragolf Championship in Japan for three straight years.
Simon Seungmin Lee recorded an impressive score of three-under-par 70.
He said, “I’m happy. All of the shots, especially my chipping and my putting, were good. It went well. I’m proud to be here. It’s my first time in the UK but the weather is very changeable. It's sunny, and then it's rainy, then gets nasty. It’s very changeable weather.
“Maybe I can win tomorrow, yeah. I have a feeling. We're going to play tomorrow aggressively, attack every hole, all 18 holes. That's the strategy for tomorrow.”
In the women’s event, Germany’s Jennifer Sräga, 26, holds a narrow one-shot lead over the defending champion, Daphne van Houten from the Netherlands. Van Houten is aiming for a hat-trick of titles after back-to-back victories at Woburn in 2024 and 2025.
Van Houten’s round of 78, including a birdie at the 2nd, pushed her back into contention, as Sräga signed for an 82 and a 163 total for 36 holes.
Jennifer Sräga tops the women's leaderboard after round two.
Women battle for title
Sräga, who finished second in the women’s overall Championship last year on her debut, was born with achondroplasia, commonly called short stature. Overnight leader Natasha Stasiuk from Canada dropped six shots behind Sräga at the top. Sräga said, “My performance was okay today. One shot worse than yesterday, but I think yesterday was tougher because of the rain, then wind, rain and then sunny. Today maybe I was a little bit tired but I’m one shot in front. I think it's a good start for tomorrow. “Now we have played the course three times, we know the spots where to put the ball or where not to put the ball. So I’m more sure playing this course. It's always my aim to be first, beat others and show them how good I am. It's good motivation and I'm looking forward to it tomorrow.” Van Houten added, “It was a lot better today than yesterday. Yesterday I was struggling a lot because it was much colder, and then my back is much more stiff and it's harder to make a good swing.
Daphne van Houten sits just one shot behind the leader going in to the final day.
“Today I went to the range and started to hit the ball a lot better. I got a bit more confident out there at the finish of the round, and I am looking forward to tomorrow to bring that back on the course. If I play like today, I am quite sure that I have a very good chance of winning for a third time.”