Pfeifer, Stasiuk and Bontz Lead After First Round of 2025 PING USDGA Championship Presented by PGA of America

Chris Biggins shot a 3-over 74 in Monday’s first round of the seventh PING USDGA Championship Presented by PGA of America. He said he hit the ball better than he scored, but that didn’t remove his constant smile.

This has always been Biggins’ favorite event. And not just because he won the second annual championship in 2019.

Sure, winning helps the memories. But it’s the stuff away from the course that matters most for the PGA Teaching Professional from the Country Club at Birmingham. He wasn’t too upset after his 74 on the Ryder Course at PGA Golf Club.

“This tournament is like a reunion with all of my best friends who got me into adaptive golf,” said Biggins, who has cerebral palsy. “I should have scored 5 or 6 shots lower, but there’s a lot of golf left.”

Biggins has added determination this week after losing a two-shot lead entering the final round of last year’s USDGA Championship. He shot 76 and finished third behind three-time champion Chad Pfeifer.

“That was a tournament I thought I should have won,” said Biggins, who is 13th in the latest disabled golfer world rankings and has a plus-1 handicap. “I lost my swing and confidence in the final round. That was an eye-opener for me. I was still recovering from (right) knee surgery, and my swing wasn’t where it needed to be.”

Winning the 2019 USDGA Championship was a door-opener for Biggins. It qualified him for the major adaptive golf tournaments around the world. It’s one of the three adaptive tournaments he plays every year, with his father Mark caddying and mom Robyn walking alongside.

“This event,” Biggins said, “always holds a special place in my heart.”

So does the sport. Biggins was involved with the U.S. Paralympic Alpine Skiing team after graduating from Methodist University. But after having knee surgery, he is concentrating on playing golf when he’s not running the junior program at his club.

“I don’t feel like I’m disabled when I’m on the course,” he said. “When I’m walking down the street, you can tell I’m disabled. Golf is sort of my backbone, and so when I play golf, I feel like everyone else. Golf is that platform for me to be as good as I want.”

Biggins is in sixth place, three shots behind – guess who? – Pfeifer (71), who is trying to win this tournament for the third consecutive year and fourth time in the last five years. Pfeifer had two birdies and two bogeys.

“I didn’t have a lot of birdie looks, but I converted the ones I had,” Pfeifer said. “I’m not thinking about winning. I just want to have fun this week.”

Max Togisala of Salt Lake City, competing in the Seated Division, was headed for the round of the day – he was 1-under after 15 holes – until he double-bogeyed the par-3 16th. But that was a good double bogey; his tee shot stopped next to the water and he had to hit a backhanded chip to reach the green, only to three putt for a 1-over 72.

“It was next to the water, so my only shot was to hit it back-handed,” said Togisala, who shot 2-under in the U.S. Adaptive Open two years ago. “I only missed two greens all day. Just a lot of pars.”

Togisala is tied for second place with Shea Taylor. Mike Browne (73) and Ford Martin (73) are tied for fourth.

World Golf Hall of Famer Dennis Walters (77) of Jupiter trails Togisala in the Seated Division by five shots. Walters came within two strokes of shooting his age for the second time in competition.

In the Women’s Division Natasha Stasiuk (77) of Ontario, Canada leads defending champion Ryanne Jackson and Cassie Sengul by three shots.

“This is the first time I played with a new set of clubs, so it’s good to know I can play with them,” Stasiuk said. “Hopefully, that means I’ll continue to play better with them.”

Kenny Bontz of Lakewood Ranch, Fla., who recently turned 55, had a 3-over 74 to lead the Senior Division by a shot over former champion Eli Villanueva (75). Bontz was 1-under on the par-4 and par-5s, but 4-over on the par-3s.

“It should have been lower, but that’s golf,” Bontz said. “I’m right where I need to be. You can’t win it in the first round, but you can lose it.”

Ken Green, a five-time PGA TOUR winner and the Senior Division defending champion, had to withdraw before the round because of a wrist injury.

The PING USDGA Championship is run by the U.S. Disabled Golf Association and Presented by PGA of America.