Brendan Lawlor hoping Irish G4D Invitational opens door for regular prize money events

Brendan Lawlor is hoping that the inaugural Irish G4D Invitational at Carton House can pave the way for disabled golfers to earn prize money regularly in competition.

The current world no. 3 is a consistent challenger and winner in G4D events, but they currently do not carry a purse.

This week's event – bringing together 12 top disabled golfers – will see €35,000 up for grabs with the entire field taking home something regardless of finishing position.

For tournament host Lawlor, he hopes it will lead to a regular paid season for disabled golfers.

"We've been playing disability events on the European Tour for the last five years and we got a really good knowledge of how the events work, and unfortunately we don’t play for prize money," he told RTÉ Sport.

"This has never happened before [having prize money]," he added of the Kildare tournament.

"So we're trying to show organisations, just because we have disabilities doesn't mean it can't be done. This is hopefully the first of many."

The Louth man, the first disabled golfer to compete on the European Tour after playing in the 2020 UK Championship at the Belfry, has long fought to further the standing of disabled golfers – and said that every barrier broken makes it worthwhile.

"It shows the sick Brendan in hospital aged 10 or 11, it gives them an avenue to go down.

"Hopefully they can see that there can be a career made out of it too."

Lawlor also said that getting the event to the starting tee wasn’t easy, but thanked those who helped make it possible.

"It took a lot of work to get it over line," he said of this week’s event, which included a pro-am on Monday featuring the likes of Shay Given and Kieran Donaghy.

"I've been very lucky to play with a lot of the guys here in the last