South Australia’s Steve Alderson overturned a three-stroke deficit to land his first WA Open All Abilities title today.
The 36-hole All Abilities Championship for golfers with physical, intellectual or sensory impairments was contested by 12 players, including five from Western Australia.
Serial All Abilities winner Alderson (pictured with caddie Nicola Roy) was the hot favourite heading into the tournament but didn’t have it all his own way as Secret Harbour provided a stern test for the field.
Alderson – affectionately known as ‘Spud’ – started his second round in T2nd position alongside Busselton GC’s Bradley Scott.
Both were three strokes adrift of Queenslander Brett Misso, who led the field home on Day 1 after a fine round of 80.
In cold and noticeably breezier conditions on Sunday morning, it wasn’t long before Alderson started making inroads into Misso’s lead.
He was just one stroke back from Misso after four holes and drew level at the 10th after a steely par to his rival’s bogey.
A birdie at the par-five 11th took Alderson into the outright lead and he found himself seven strokes clear on the 17th tee as Misso’s challenge petered out.
Although Misso pulled a shot back at the 17th, a rock-solid par for Alderson at the testing 18th saw him sign off for a round of 79 and a seven-shot margin of victory.
Alderson with his fellow All Abilities Championship competitors
It was Alderson’s fourth All Abilities title on WA soil after he also won the WA PGA event in Kalgoorlie last week and is a two-time winner of Webex Players Series Perth in 2025-26.
Former Aussie Paralympian Scott claimed outright third, two strokes behind Misso, with Kieran Timms (VIC) and defending champion George Vassiliadis (SA) rounding out the top five.
View image galleries from the All Abilities Championship here.
