Steven Alderson has become a household name on the international golf scene after a breakout season in 2024. The 44-year-old South Australian made international headlines when he became the first autistic winner on the 'Golf for the Disabled' tour. Now, he hopes to use his success to inspire others living with a disability to chase their dreams.
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00:00Stephen Alderson, better known as Spud, is a local celebrity at his beloved Wollonga
00:08Golf Club, a place he's spent countless hours honing his craft since he was a child.
00:13I'd actually catch the school bus with my golf gear, come play golf and then when the
00:17school bus was ready to go back home, I'd just catch the school bus back home.
00:21He'd roll up at six o'clock in the morning and he'd be here at eight o'clock at night.
00:26He would just play and play and play.
00:28In a whirlwind 2024, Alderson and his caddy Trent Blucher travelled the world as he competed
00:34in the G4D Tour, a golf tournament for the disabled.
00:38Collecting wins in Spain and Dubai, Alderson made international headlines when he became
00:43the first autistic person to win an event on the tour, an emotional post-win interview
00:49going viral.
00:50Growing up as a kid, just being bullied all the time at school and even bullied at other
00:55golf clubs, it just means the world, so awesome.
01:00Only diagnosed with autism ten years ago, Alderson says he grew up in a generation confused
01:06by his emotions.
01:07Really really difficult because we didn't know what autism was but we had a lot of doctors
01:14tell my mum and dad that they were bad parents and I was just a bad child.
01:19Alderson's recent experiences have helped him learn valuable life skills that were once
01:23overwhelming, from catching full trains in Dubai to traversing through busy international
01:28airports.
01:29He hopes to use his success on the golf course as a beacon for others.
01:34If I can help other people in the world with autism or just a disability, I'd love to do
01:39that.
01:40Just follow their dream and if someone tells them they can't do it, just go out and show
01:43them that they're wrong.
01:46His story is organic and real but the attention that's coming to him is sincere, it's people
01:50showing gratitude for him sharing his story.
01:54His story will continue in 2025, with Alderson already clinching another trophy at an All
01:59Abilities event in Perth.