Ireland's Rob Hogan beat 24 professional speed golfers to take the Speedgolf world championship in Bandon, Oregon.
Hogan jumped out to the midway lead on Saturday with a 77 in 39 minutes and 31 seconds (39:31). He followed up with a 79 in 41:29 and had the fastest time both days.
The scoring format of Speedgolf is total strokes, plus total minutes and seconds it takes the player to complete his or her round. Hogan’s final Speedgolf score was 236.55.
“This is absolutely massive for me,” Hogan said. “It’s something I’ve dreamed of the past year, something I’ve worked really hard for.”
Eric Crum finished runner-up after shooting an 80 in 45:03 and a 73 in 44:31. Matt Dehlin was third with a 78 in 46:06 and 78 in 48:00.
The field included two Olympic track and field athletes in Bernard Lagat and Nick Willis.
Despite being a beginner golfer Lagat logged the sixth-fastest time Saturday and fourth-fastest time Sunday. New Zealand’s Willis, took silver in the 1,500 meters at the 2008 Olympics and finished in 13th place after a final round 97 in 43:07.
