​ROCKVILLE — Ford Martin once started 43 consecutive games as the goalkeeper for his high school lacrosse team, a background that has clearly helped him excel in golf. “I feel like that lacrosse goalie mindset is very similar to what you need as a golfer,” the 33-year-old Martin said, noting that he carries a +1 handicap. “You’re going to get scored on, but you need to reset for the next one, and I’ve tried to take that to competitive golf.”
That mindset has carried him through his best runs on the golf course. For the third consecutive year, the Potomac native finished in the Top 10 at the U.S. Adaptive Open, tying for 10th at the championship event hosted by Woodmont Country Club. Martin posted a 2-over 74 on Wednesday afternoon, his first round over par after opening with two 1-under 71s on Monday and Tuesday at the United States Golf Association’s international tournament for golfers overcoming disabilities. His three-round total of even-par 216 left him 18 strokes behind England’s Kipp Popert, who claimed his fourth straight title with a blistering 9-under 63 for a 198-shot total at the 6,421-yard South Course.
Kim Moore of Fort Wayne, Indiana, captured her second consecutive championship, finishing 12-over 228 after a 4-over 76. She topped Bailey Bish of Tucson, Arizona, and Sunyoung Kim of South Korea, who tied for second at 18-over 234. After tying for fifth in 2024 in Newton, Kansas, and 10th last summer at Woodmont, Martin—who works as a commercial real estate developer and lives in Nashville, Tennessee—expressed satisfaction with his performance, especially given he was an alternate until late last week.
“That’s a great feather in my cap, and it’s something that keeps me going, keeps me practicing and grinding in the hot summer days,” he said. “I keep a note in my phone that says, ‘Get 1% better every day.’ I try to do something every day to get me better and stay hungry, to be at the top of the adaptive game.” Competing in the coordination impairment category, Martin was born with bilateral neurogenic club feet. He has undergone four operations to fuse his ankles and wears orthotic braces on both legs to help prop up his toes. He has no muscle activity below his knees and jokes that he never won a race on the school playground or track. Yet, as the youngest of seven children, he never let his physical challenge define him.
“I feel like being the youngest definitely pushed me to keep up with my older siblings,” he said. “And they never let me hang back, and I was always very active.” Kevin Keegan, who has known Martin since they were third graders at the Norwood School in Bethesda and spent all three days as his caddy, said his friend refused to let his disability define him. “It’s amazing how many people know Ford and have known Ford for a really long time, but don’t know for better SEO.”