Golfer with CP wins one-armed North American championship

From columnist Kevin Cowherd at The Baltimore Sun:

In a sense, the operation gave Vince back his life.

Now he was playing golf six days a week, overcoming the limitations of his right arm and balky right leg with a sweet lefty, one-armed swing.

Which is how he ended up on the lush, manicured grounds of the PGA National resort two weeks ago, playing for the one-armed championship with his dad as his caddie.

Obviously, the 47 players gathered for the four-day event were not your typical golfers.

One had his arm bitten off by an alligator. Another, a former utility worker, lost an arm when he fell from a pole onto a live electrical wire. There were golfers missing arms from motorcycle accidents and industrial mishaps.

And Vince Biser, the youngest guy in the field, playing in just his fourth one-armed tournament, beat them all.

In the final round of match play, on the treacherous par-3, 179-yard 15th hole, his opponent stepped up to the tee and plunked two balls into the water, leaving Vince 5-up with three holes to play.

"Vince," the guy said casually, "let's go to dinner."

Realizing he had just won, Vince was stunned.

"I was thinking, 'Yay, I won the tournament,' " he recalled. "But I also kind of felt bad for the guy. It was his second year in a row in the finals."

The win had an added benefit for Vince: He locked up a spot in the 2010 Flightmaster Cup in Wales, where he'll compete against European one-armed golfers.

The flight home to BWI-Marshall Airport was a happy blur for the Bisers.

When the family's SUV pulled into the driveway, another surprise awaited: The entire neighborhood had turned out for a big "Welcome Home" party. A camera crew from a local TV station was on hand.

Vince Biser never saw himself as a role model for people with disabilities. But that might be changing.

"I just got an e-mail from a guy in Timonium," he said, smiling. "He said he has the same kind of disability I have. And he wants to play golf with me."

Now Vince's goal is to become a teaching pro at a local golf course, where he might be able to help others with physical limitations play the game.

You don't want to bet against him.

Not after all he has overcome.