27 Oct 2009 at 20:51 | Published by: JJM | Views: 8208 | News search

World Crazy Golf Champion 2009 Keith Kellard.  (Photo by Richard Gottfried 2009)

British Champion 2009 Keith Kellard added another trophy to his successful year, as he won World Crazy Golf Championships in Hastings, United Kingdom. Kellard scored 5 under par in 7 rounds at the Hastings Seafront courses, where "par" really means what it is supposed to mean, top-class game.

Another British player Peter Emmerson was second, with total score equal to par. John Mittler of Finland was third, one over par, ahead of the defending champion Tim Davies in 4th place (2 over par) and Sean Homer in 5th place, after tied score and play-off against Davies.

Jo Williamson took the women’s champion title with an excellent score 4 over par. Ruth Bullin was second best woman at 13 over par (in 6 rounds, missing the cut for the final round), and Olivia Prokopová of Czech Republic was third in women, at 15 over par after 6 rounds.

The funny and entertaining WCGC tournament received remarkable attention from big media around the world. Major international satellite channels such as Sky Sports, CNN and BBC showed highlights from the tournament in their sport news of 26 October 2009. Also many large British newspapers wrote about the competition, and news agencies around the world from India to China and New Zealand reported the event. WCGC seems to be one of the most widely reported (if not indeed the most widely reported) minigolf tournaments of the year 2009.

WMF has expressed wishes that Brits would rename the tournament into something else than a "World" championship, but at the height of such media success, the British organizers have no plans to change their tournament in any way. The competition is sponsored and arranged by Castle Golf minigolf manufacturing company, with a sum 10 times more than what typical gold sponsors pay to WMF. BMGA has a warm relationship with the organizers, and BMGA gives WCGC a major status in the national minigolf ranking, but the tournament is a fully independent event, without any official ties to BMGA or WMF.

WCGC has grown to be the biggest annual minigolf competition in Britain, with 83 participants in 2009, 68 participants in 2008, 77 participants in 2007, 87 participants in 2006, 102 participants in 2005, 49 participants in 2004, and 25 participants in the first year 2003.

SHARE Share Tweet