Combining golfing skill, strategy, fitness and pace, James Hardy successfully defended his British Speedgolf Championship title after shooting a remarkable 61 in under 26 minutes at Sunningdale Heath Golf Club.
The PGA professional overcame fellow PGA Pro Will Robson to win the 12th British Speedgolf Championships, finishing with a combined Speedgolf score of 175:01. Robson led after Round 1 with a 62 in 25:29, but Hardy responded with the lowest stroke score of the championship just 61 on the par 58 course at Sunningdale Heath in just 25:55 to take the win. Robson finished runner-up with a Speedgolf Score of 177:51.
Hardy’s results:
- Round 1: 63 in 25:06
- Round 2: 61 in 25:55
- Total Speedgolf score: 175:01
The second round was played in Speedgolf's exciting reverse-time chase format, with the top 20 players starting at four-minute intervals in reverse order of their Round 1 times. That meant the slower players started first, while the fastest players aimed to chase them down. Players had to balance the pressure of protecting their four-minute advantage with the knowledge that a faster competitor was coming from behind, which made for an exciting championship finish.
There was also a first at Sunningdale Heath as Ben Walmsley recorded the first-ever hole-in-one in British Speedgolf Championship history, acing the par-three fifth in Round 2. Walmsley completed his round in just under 33 minutes, also claiming the Senior Men's title.
17-year-old Callum Neill won the British Junior Championship, shooting 68 in under 30 minutes and finishing 19th overall after making the cut. Astonishingly, this year another junior, Zac Ford, also made the cut.
However, the youngest competitor, 12-year-old Louis Allen-Monaghan, also impressed, completing his first tournament Speedgolf 18 holes in 37 minutes.
Kathy Leppard won the Amateur Women's title, while Bev Fentiman took the new Senior Women's category.
The fastest round of the championship was recorded by former World Speedgolf Champion and three-time British Speedgolf champion Rob Hogan, who completed 18 holes in an astonishing 24:32. Rob is better known by his social media alter ego Marooch; he has established himself as one of golf’s most popular swing-coach content providers with nearly 700K followers on Instagram.
Speedgolf combines golf strokes with playing time to create a single score. Players typically carry four or five clubs and run or jog between shots, making the sport a unique test of golfing ability, fitness, strategy and decision-making.
Competitors from the UK, Ireland, France, Belgium and Germany took part in the 12th championship at Sunningdale Heath's par-58, 3,544-yard course. The British Speedgolf Championships and Pairs Championship return in 2027. Before then, a 12-player British team will travel to New Zealand in November for the Toro Speedgolf World Championships, competing against teams from 12 other nations.
