St. Pete golfer wins US Adaptive Open title

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Growing up in St. Petersburg, Ryanne Jackson was an avid basketball player, but golf on the other hand was more of a chore. 

"I never really hated it but never really enjoyed it," said Jackson. 

But now, that chore has turned into a passion. 

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After graduating from Northside Christian High School, Jackson played golf in college – not basketball. But during her freshman year, she was diagnosed with scapuloperoneal muscular dystrophy, a rare disorder that causes the weakening and wasting of muscles in a person's body.

Regardless of her diagnosis, Jackson continued to play Division I golf in college. In 2022, she signed up for the inaugural U.S. Adaptive Open. 

To Jackson's surprise, she finished in second place after the three-round tournament at Pinehurst Golf Course. 

"That's a lot better than I thought I played," she remembered thinking. 

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Jackson's runner-up finish automatically qualified her for the 2023 tournament, but leading up to her tee time, she realized she had forgotten to do one crucial thing. 

"I started preparing 10 days before the tournament," Jackson confessed. 

Regardless, she returned to Pinehurst No. 6, determined to finish atop the leader board this time. 

"I didn't have any expectations of how I was going to play," Jackson said. 

After shooting rounds of 76, 75 and 74, she captured the Women's US Adaptive Open title by five strokes. 

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"It's definitely sunk in a bit that my name is going to be in the museum, and it's always going to be on this trophy, forever," said Jackson. 

With a U.S. Adaptive Open title under her belt, she is starting to look at golf as less of a chore than ever before. 

Now, Jackson wants to take her shot at keeping her name on the sterling silver trophy she left North Carolina with. 

"I'd like to go back and be able to say I was the first person to defend my win," Jackson said. 

That win, meanwhile, didn't just deliver a trophy but personal validation. 

"To go on and, now, have a US Adaptive Open trophy is just kind of more than what I had expected myself to accomplish, especially after my diagnosis," Jackson said. 

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And while personal validation is nice, so is the trophy that has been made a centerpiece of her dining room.

"After a year, I've got to send it back," said Jackson. 

Unless of course… "Unless [I] win again," she said.