Max Togisala defeats Brock Leitner in one-hole playoff to win inaugural U.S. Seated Golfers Championship
After a long day of missed opportunities in the final round of the U.S. Seated Golfers Championship, Max Togisala didn’t think he’d end up hanging on for the title.
Instead, one clean drive on hole No. 18 changed his perspective, and then a solid textbook par on the first playoff hole helped him seal the overall championship over Canada’s Brock Leitner by one shot Wednesday on the Cattail course at Whirlwind Golf Club in Chandler, Ariz.
Both seated golfers finished the two-day 36-hole tournament at two-under par (144).
But with the title hanging in the balance on the first playoff hole, Togisala calmly sank a short putt for par, took a breath, stuffed his putter in his bag, took off his hat and shook hands with Leitner, who bogeyed the hole. A few moments later, Togisala let out a sigh of relief as he was congratulated by family and other golfers.
“I wasn’t playing that great, and I thought I was out of it after, like, [hole No.] 17 and just didn’t expect it. And then I drove the green on [hole No.]18, so that was a good, good motivation to keep going,” says the 22-year-old Togisala, a Brigham City, Utah, resident, who sustained a level T12 complete spinal cord injury (SCI) while skiing at Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho.
It sure was an adventure at the end. With just an hour before Togisala had to leave to catch a flight back home, he parred the 18th hole in the last group to stay tied and force the playoff. So, tournament organizers quickly put together a plan, found a way to open hole No. 1 up to begin the playoff, and Togisala and Leitner squared off.
It was the 28-year-old Leitner who was frustrated early on in the playoff, though. After launching his tee shot near a right-side bunker to start Wednesday’s round, he did the same thing to start the playoff, leaving him about 145 yards from the hole. Then, his second shot from near the bunker didn’t spin onto the green and left him high and to the right of it.
“I hit like a low draw, and I needed it to be a bit higher and land a bit softer. But you can always go back and wish that you had those shots,” says Leitner, a Summerland, British Columbia, resident.
He chipped his third shot onto the green, leaving him with a mid-range par putt, which he missed just a tiny bit over and past the hole. After finishing second in the seated players division at this year’s July 6-8 U.S. Adaptive Open at Woodmont Country Club’s South Course in Rockville, Md., Leitner rallied for a two-shot comeback to tie Togisala after 36 holes, but once again finished runner-up Wednesday.
“I wanted to be the bride, but I was the bridesmaid once again. So, got some more work to do,” says Leitner, who sustained a level T6 SCI on June 12, 2022, in a professional Canadian National Series motocross accident in Drumheller, Alberta.
Togisala was excited for the overall win.
“I mean, for it to be the first seated championship, it means a lot. I’m very happy with how I played and happy how everything went,” he says. “I would say my driving was pretty good this week. And, for this course, you need to be pretty accurate with it off the tee. And I did that pretty well.”
Leitner did capture a title, though, taking the G9 classification division by eight shots over Ian St. John (+6, 152) and by 10 shots over first-day tournament co-leader Ben Hulin (+8, 154). Tournament co-director, Paralyzed Veterans of America Arizona Chapter member and Army veteran Larry Celano won the Senior Division title (+6, 152) over Fernando Vega de Seoane (+16, 162), while PVA Mid-Atlantic Chapter member and Air Force veteran Mark Hartney captured the G10 classification division title at 19-over par.
Celano, who shot 81-71 and had an eagle-birdie-birdie finish, was ecstatic with the way the tournament turned out. He says Whirlwind has plans to host it again next year.
“It turned better than expected, no major hiccups, problems,” Celano says. “I couldn’t ask for anything better. I mean, it met expectations. It exceeded my expectations.”
U.S. Seated Golfers Championship Cattail Course at Whirlwind Golf Club in Chandler, Ariz.
Sept. 30 Day 2
Overall
Name Score
Max Togisala -2** (won in 1-hole playoff)
Brock Leitner -2
Ian St. John +6
Ben Hulin +8
Mariano Tubio +16
Amaro Sanfeliz Espinosa +20
Justin Miller +20
Tommy Paulson +20
Brandon Adam +21
Mike Nicholson +21
Trevor Kennison +22
Jelle Oosterwijk +30
Mac Graff +41
Richard Dahl +74
G10 Classification Division
Name Score
Max Togisala -2
Larry Celano +6
Mark Hartney +19
Amaro Sanfeliz Espinosa +20
Justin Miller +20
Tommy Paulson +20
Brandon Adam +21
Trevor Kennison +22
Jelle Oosterwijk +30
Jerry Hazell +36
Mac Graff +41
Layne Kap +50
G9 Classification Division
Name Score
Brock Leitner -2
Ian St. John +6
Ben Hulin +8
Fernando Vega de Seoane +16
Mariano Tubio +16
Mike Nicholson +21
Haki Doku +37
Jeffrey Odom +61
Kevin Patton +71
Richard Dahl +74
Senior Classification Division
Name Score
Larry Celano +6
Fernando Vega de Seoane +16
Mark Hartney +19
Jerry Hazell +36
Haki Doku +37
Layne Kap +50
Jeffrey Odom +61
Kevin Patton +71