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, neurological, vision, multiple limb amputee, short stature and seated players.
Western Michigan coach Kim Moore wins the inaugural U.S. Adaptive Open by seven shots! What an inspiration she is to all of college golf! pic.twitter.com/wBKq5rnADE
— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) July 20, 2022
“All these years, everyone says I’m inspiring them,” said Dennis Walters, who won the seated players division.
“But I couldn’t help but be totally amazed and inspired by the sights I’ve seen here. If you were here, I don’t think you would ever forget this.”
Lee, whose father was once a diplomat, spent time as a child going back and forth from the U.S. to South Korea. In elementary school, he started out playing ice hockey but struggled to connect in a team environment.
That’s when the family switched him to golf, which his mother, Ji-ae Pahk, said proved difficult because of the need for constant repetition. He would learn one thing and then promptly forget it. Getting her son to focus and stay centered on the ball proved difficult, too.
But Lee persevered and turned professional in high school. Tournament golf helped him learn how to better communicate. Mom says they’re still working hard on making eye contact.
In the bio information Lee’s mother provided tournament officials, she noted that a psychological test administered last year showed that Lee’s mental and social age remains in the 6-7 range. He had an IQ score of 66. (The average IQ score usually falls between 85 and 115.)
Pahk’s message to parents of children with autism is to find what they love and continue to work on it.
“It’s not just something that your feeding their hobby,” she said with help of an interpreter. “It changes their character and their personality overall.”
On paper, Lee came in this week with the lowest handicap index in the field at 3.6. His ultimate dream is to one day stand on the 18th hole at the Masters on Sunday.
“In the future, I will work harder to show that an adaptive golfer can compete on the PGA Tour,” Lee told the crowd of players and supporters after the round.
“My wish is to be remembered as a golfer who never gave up.”
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