They suffered similar injuries. Now, they are players, Cardi teammates

Rockville, Maryland – Life, like golf, is an inch game. Even millimeters.

Minimum margins can make everything different.

Consider the story of Justin Delp and Nick Galante, the story of the 2025 American Adaptive Open Player Tie that opens at the Woodmont Country Club in 2025.

Both are long-time friends who have made connections through golf, but are reinforced by the highly similar injuries each suffered in separate events.

Galante happened in 1997 when he was “a directionless kid” in New England, devoting his time “as a ski butt and golf butt”. On a cold day, there was a problem with his big jump on his snowboard and Galante broke his back. Even though he recovered completely, the accident was a wake-up call.

“I think I’m going to apply for myself and whatever I do, I’m going to start living 110% of my life,” he said.

In addition to playing golf, Garland is also an avid car racer. A friend reminded him of a place he had never heard of: Monterey, California, a golf-rich area that happens to be the Laguna Seca track. Galante doesn’t need to hear more. He drove across the country and started to start over, supporting a new starting point by finding a job in the pebble beach golf connection community.

There, he met Delp, an adrenaline-sports fan who went to high school in Monterrey. Both were spare pickers and truck attendants, but soon took on the role of caddies. In 1999, after the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am loop, Delp invited Galante to join him on his ski trip in Tahoe. Galante also played but eager to put in more cash, he chose to stay and caddies.

A few days later, in his own devastating response from his own past, he spoke out what happened to his partner: Delp broke his back after a big jump on the mountain. Like Garant before him, Delp broke two vertebrae. Unlike Galante, he was paralyzed from the waist.

“It’s tough,” Delp said. “I’m a good athlete, I love being active, and now I’m in a wheelchair. Spiritually, I’ve had a tough time.”

Galante was also prompted to reflect for a while.

“Whether it was angle or compression, the difference in my injury came down to millimeters,” he said. “That was almost touching my spinal cord.”

Delp’s misfortune also has a silver lining. His spinal cord was damaged but not cut off. He quickly embarked on a arduous recovery process, crossing a series of leg braces until he could stand up again. Within two years, he returned to playing golf, initially unstable, but gradually improved. His index fell into a single number.

Years have passed. With California support, Delp continued to attend college at UC Santa Cruz, and now lives in Oklahoma, where he worked for an oil company. Galante continued to kick off while working as a car racer. In addition to the loop, he competed in professional racing and coached at Laguna Seca.

The two have been in touch all the time. Last year, Delp was underqualified to the U.S. Adaptive Open with Galante’s schoolbag. However, this year, he was with his friends again and ran into his ticket to this week’s championship in the suburbs of Maryland.

“It feels like a complete circle of life,” Garland said.

Early in Monday’s first round, Jitters entered Delp. Galante tried his best to use his ball skills to give his friends a certain point of view.

“He came to me like he said, ‘Man, I’m nervous. It feels like a professional,'” Garrant said. “I’m like, um, man, that’s because yes major. ”

Delp settled down and shot 80, and he backed up on Tuesday as 77, a performance that still put him on the wrong side of layoffs. Not that he will disappoint him.

Afterwards, in the club, he and Galante emanated from the wet weather and reflected on this week. They said they left with only good resonance and gratitude, and certainty to try again next year.

“This event was amazing,” Delp said. “They treat you like your A Tour Pro, the course is in good condition and the other players are great.”

He stopped.

“You see things people overcome and it reminds you of your luck,” he said.