At age eight, Don Gorman handed his granddaughter Kelly a golf club and set her on a path that would carry her to the U.S. Adaptive Open. On July 6, Kelly Gorman will make her debut at the 5th edition of the championship at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Maryland.

Her journey is fueled by a deeply emotional backstory of family belief and overcoming medical odds. Above all, the main driving force behind Gorman's golf career was her grandfather, who passed on his immense love for the sport to Gorman.

"Grandpa just really believed in his Kelly," her cousin, Jimmy Hughto, told Golf Digest.

"She was his pride and joy and watching her and the other cousins succeed at shared passions with him like golf gave him the biggest smile."

Don Gorman and Kelly spent countless hours together at the driving range and practice green at Wethersfield Country Club in Connecticut.

He'd team up with Kelly in family matches against her eight cousins. The two loved cruising the course together in a cart between shots.

Kelly's grandfather’s ultimate dream was to see her win a golf club championship. Today, Kelly Gorman has completely exceeded that vision.

She has won six club championships across three different golf clubs, including two at her current home course, Normanside Country Club.

'If grandpa knew that Kelly was playing in the U.S. Adaptive Open, it would be the first time in his life that he would be speechless," Hughto later told Golf Digest.

Her grandfather is no longer here to see it. But Kelly knows exactly how he would feel.

"He would be tickled pink to know that I'm playing in a USGA championship," she said, per the same Golf Digest article.

"Golf was really his life passion, and his big dream was that one day I'd win a club championship. I'm really proud to say I've now won six."

Overcoming Medical Odds: The journey was never easy for Kelly Gorman

Long before golf, long before championships, Kelly was fighting a different kind of battle.

She was born with clubfoot and arthrogryposis, a condition that causes stiff joints and underdeveloped muscles.

As a baby, she underwent five surgeries on her feet and knees. When she was five weeks old, several doctors told her parents she would never walk.

One doctor at the Hospital for Special Surgery, Dr. Stephen Burke, told Kelly's parents not to give up hope, according to the same article by Golf Digest.

"She will make you very, very proud," Dr. Burke said.

And she did. Kelly never saw herself as different from her siblings. At Hackley School in Tarrytown, New York, she played goalie on the lacrosse team and helped them win three state championships.

And at the U.S. Adaptive Open Qualifier on May 7, she earned medalist honors in the Women's Division after carding an 82 in the round.

"I’m really excited about it. I had never played in a golf tournament of this size or caliber," Kelly said of the moment she learned she'd qualified, according to the Times Union.

She became speechless after hearing the news. And her first call afterwards was to Hughto — not just to share the news, but to ask him to caddie for her at Woodmont.

Hughto didn't need to hear the whole question before saying yes.

"He cut me off before I could finish and said yes," Gorman told GolfDigest.

And Hughto, who has a 2-month-old daughter at home and very little free time, says: "It was a no-brainer for me. It's the honor of a lifetime caddying for my cousin in this championship."

Read more at Club Golf!

Written by

Md Saife Fida

Edited by

Koushik Biswas