RI’s Lussier Finishes 2nd at Brightspot Unified Golf Challenge
Rhode Island Special Olympic Gold Medalist Chris Lussier finished second at the Brightspot Unified Challenge this past week at the Golf Club at Creighton Farms in Virginia and TPC Potomac in Maryland
The event welcomed golfers from The First Tee, Special Olympics and Wounded Warriors for a pro-am and then a Ryder Cup style event.
Players were split into team “Stars” and team “Stripes,” for a Ryder Cup competition, which was on by team “Stripes.”
“Playing Unified means we can prove to people both with and without intellectual disabilities that we have many more talents than most people realize. This week was a great way to bring all people together to play golf, a game we all love,” Lussier said.
Lussier tells GolfNewsRI that he, and other Special Olympians, are now charged with submitting and essay on the event, with a chance to go to Augusta National on the line.
As GolfNewsRI detailed in a story last season, Lussier was born with Asperger’s Syndrome, a condition on the autism spectrum, with generally higher functioning.
He was born both deaf and non-verbal (meaning he didn’t speak), and had to have a number of medical procedures as a child.
Chris is a member and an employee of Kings Crossing in North Kingstown.