Carlock heads Men’s Overall; Cunha, Howard share Women’s lead
NORTHFIELD, N.J. — Adjustment was the theme during Round 1 of the 3rd GAP Adaptive Championship at a sporty Atlantic City Country Club (ACCC). Significant rains on the eve of the championship prompted an adjustment to Monday’s tee times. Patience and on-course strategy adjustments prevailed for leaders after the Championship’s opening round.
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After Round 1, Justin Carlock of Eaton, Colo. blitzed the Men’s Overall division (par 70, 5,981 yards) with a respectable 2-under-par 68. He holds a commanding six-shot lead over Trevor Stephens of Greenwich, Conn. who sits at 4 over. The Women’s Overall division (par 70, 4,749) is headlined by a pair of former University of Arizona Adaptive Golf teammates Amanda Cunha of Kaneohe, Hawaii and Sophia Howard of Hudsonville, Mich. The female frontrunners stand at 12-over-par 82, two shots clear of Canada’s Natasha Stasiuk.
Round 2 tee times begin at 8 a.m. Tuesday. An awards ceremony, where Overall and category champions will be crowned, will take place at the conclusion of play.
Last year’s Men’s Overall champion David de Garavilla of Telford, Pa. carded a 19-over-par 89 in Round 1. He currently sits at T31. Defending Women’s Overall champion Cassie Sengul of Manassas, Va. is in fourth place at 15-over 85.
“I was pretty happy with how I hit it. Some good, some bad,” Carlock, 31, said. “This was my first time playing golf in New Jersey so not really knowing what to expect [,and] having skipped the practice round yesterday [was difficult.]”
The aforementioned rains, remnant of Hurricane Isaias, cancelled Sunday’s scheduled practice rounds. Round 1 tee times were delayed an hour and a half and changed to employ a two tee start. A one-tee start was in effect prior to the change.
Carlock, an assistant golf professional at Eaton Country Club in Eaton, Colo., played in the day’s second group off No. 10. He was the only player to break par.
After a bogey on his opener, No. 10 (par 5, 448 yards), he regained his footing with three birdies on Atlantic City’s outward nine. On No. 12 (par 3, 126 yards) he lifted a pitching wedge from the tee to eight feet. On No. 16 (par 4, 353 yards) he spun a gap wedge from 100 yards to two feet. An 8-iron from 135 yards to 10 feet did the trick on No. 18 (par 4, 381 yards).
Carlock opened the throttle on ACCC’s front nine with a pair of birdies on Nos. 2 (par 4, 353 yards) and 3 (par 4, 336 yards). On the former, he canned a 25-footer after negotiating a 54 degree from 86 yards. On the latter, he stopped a lob-wedge from 84 yards to six inches.
“I love it so much. It’s absolutely special,” Carlock said of the course. “I have a fellow professional from Colorado, her name is Ashley Tait, [and] she played this course before and said it is extremely special. She was right.”
Carlock lives with amniotic band syndrome, a rare condition where strands of amniotic fiber enter the womb and wrap around developing hands and feet restricting their development. Carlock’s hands are affected. During his childhood, he underwent reconstructive surgery to restore partial hand function.
Golf entered Carlock’s life at 16 when he started working his first part-time job picking the driving range at Highland Hills Golf Course.
“I got tired of paying to play golf, so I was like, ‘Man, I think I just need to work at a golf course forever,’ and that’s pretty much all I’ve done,’” Carlock said.
Carlock is a seasoned competitor. In 2025, he won the Colorado Assistant PGA Professional Championship. This year, he made a forceful foray into the Adaptive Golf space. His first Adaptive Golf appearance was in this year’s U.S. Adaptive Open at Woodmont Country Club (South Course). There, he won the Upper Limb Impairment category and finished tied for third in the Men’s Overall Division. In the GAP Adaptive, Carlock competes in the G5: Arm Unassisted impairment category.
His performance put him on the Adaptive Golf map and earned him an invitation to the GAP Adaptive Championship.
“How Special is it to have a whole series of tournaments dedicated to what we all have going on? Little minor setbacks in life that we’re dealing with,” Carlock said. “I feel like everybody’s your friend. It’s cool. It’s definitely a tight-knit group.”
Cunha, who won her impairment category in the inaugural GAP Adaptive Championship, is back after her absence from last year’s field. The recent graduate of The University of Arizona, is a visually impaired golfer who lives with Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy, a rare genetic disorder that causes vision loss due to a degeneration of the optic nerve. Cunha was the first member of the University of Arizona’s Adaptive Golf team when the program began in 2019. Cunha competes in the G11, G12, G13: Women’s Visual impairment category.
Cunha, who started on ACCC’s back nine, went out in 43. Her card featured a birdie on her first hole. She bettered her score by four shots on her back nine.
“At the beginning of the day it was really wet on the course, so I was trying to play simple golf,” Cunha, 22, said. “When it got sunnier, it was easier to hit more aggressive shots. [I] didn’t play my best golf, so hopefully tomorrow I can make it a little better.”
Howard won the G5: Arm Assisted category in last year’s championship. In this year’s opening round, she carded matching nines of 41. Howard was born without a hand and uses a prosthetic to hold the golf club. She has competed in multiple U.S. Adaptive Opens and is a member of the University of Arizona’s Adaptive Golf team.
“I really didn’t have many expectations. I’m coming from Tucson, Ariz. That’s a desert and we start off [today] with it being cold, wet and rainy,” Howard, 22, said. “It turned out to be a really nice day. I tried to be a little more aggressive on the [back nine.]”
GAP Adaptive
In 2024, GAP (Golf Association of Philadelphia) launched GAP Adaptive to continue its mission of promoting, preserving and protecting the game of golf for all. GAP’s Adaptive Golf committee opened the season with its first program titled No Limit Clinics, a season-long series of instructional Adaptive Golf events taking place at various GAP Member Clubs. The GAP Adaptive season culminates with the GAP Adaptive Championship, a WR4GD-counting event. The field consists of local and international Adaptive Golfers.
| Men’s Division | |
| Name, city, state | Score |
| Justin Carlock, Eaton, Colo. | 68 |
| Trevor Stephens, Greenwich, Conn. | 74 |
| Albert Bowker, Buellton, Calif. | 75 |
| Mario Dino, Denver, Colo. | 77 |
| Grant Carey, Towson, Md. | 78 |
| Kyle Erickson, Minneapolis, Minn. | 79 |
| Zachary Grove, York, Pa. | 79 |
| Tucker Haas, York, Pa. | 79 |
| Russell Aide, Stirling, Ontario, Canada | 79 |
| Evan Mathias, Indianapolis, Ind. | 80 |
| Harley Hartle, Allison Park, Pa. | 80 |
| Andrew Austen, Charleston, S.C. | 81 |
| Fred Heller, Folsom, Pa. | 81 |
| Ricky Reilly, Syracuse, N.Y. | 81 |
| Jim Voland, Glenshaw, Pa. | 83 |
| George Willoughby, Danville, Va. | 83 |
| Steven Shipuleski, Plainfield, Conn. | 83 |
| Matthew Snowdon, Annapolis, Md. | 84 |
| Dan Diamond, Feasterville, Pa. | 85 |
| William Valkner, Tucson, Ariz. | 86 |
| Douglas Shirakura, Somers, N.Y. | 86 |
| Dawson Thompson, Pascagoula, Miss. | 87 |
| Grant McGuigan, Rochester, N.Y. | 87 |
| James Van Noord, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. | 87 |
| Andrew Berglund, Stillwater, Minn. | 87 |
| Brandon Canesi, Northfield, N.J. | 88 |
| Vince Biser, Baltimore, Md. | 88 |
| Tyler Cashman, Gold Canyon, Ariz. | 88 |
| David Schofield, Hollywood, S.C. | 88 |
| Jason Hasty, Chester, Va. | 88 |
| David de Garavilla, Telford, Pa. | 89 |
| Jeffrey Heisey, Gilbertsville, Pa. | 89 |
| Anthony Maldonado, Odessa, Texas | 90 |
| Brian Partee, Middletown, Del. | 90 |
| Jonathan Snyder, Westmont, Ill. | 91 |
| Ryan Lukkari, West Bloomfield, Mich. | 92 |
| Benjamin Jones, Berkley, Mich. | 93 |
| Zachary Duncan, Cornelius, N.C. | 94 |
| Jason Rose, Commerce Township, Mich. | 95 |
| Andreas Brandenberger, San Diego, Calif. | 96 |
| Matthew Landcastle, Palmyra, N.Y. | 97 |
| Steve Mazzilli, Medford, N.J. | 98 |
| Todd Manion, Greenfield, Ind. | 98 |
| Stephen Kuketz, Quincy, Mass. | 100 |
| Kevin McBride, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada | 100 |
| Steven Blatz, Nazareth, Pa. | 103 |
| Bill Lippincott, Center Valley, Pa. | 110 |
| Tim Healea, Roseville, Calif. | 113 |
| James Nolan, Verona, N.J. | 113 |
| Bernardo García, Mexico City, Mexico | NS |
| Women’s Division | |
| Name, city, state | Score |
| Sophia Howard, Hudsonville, Mich. | 82 |
| Amanda Cunha, Kaneohe, Hawaii | 82 |
| Natasha Stasiuk, Oakville, Ontario, Canada | 84 |
| Cassie Sengul, Manassas, Va. | 85 |
| Amy Bockerstette, Phoenix, Ariz. | 96 |
| Tessa Trojan, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada | 96 |
| Delaney Bartling, Bay Shore, N.Y. | 103 |
| Kellie Valentine, McKean, Pa. | 109 |
| NS-no show |
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