The story of the last birdie

Stefano Grigolo is the first ever senior world champion in footgolf with an amazing ending the last round of the tournament. His last putt earned a birdie, which was enough for him to be crowned.
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Who is Stefano Grigolo, the senior world champion?
I am a 48-year-old financial consultant living in Legnago, next to Verona, and I have been playing footgolf since 2016. I discovered this amazing sport thanks to my friends, Lorenzo Mercatali and Thomas Tagliapietra, that were talking about it over and over. So, one day I tried at the Golf Club Corradina and it was love at first sight!
Have you dreamed about winning the World Cup?
Everyone dreams about it, am I right? But during the game you face so many things that can change your dreams. So, I started day one focusing on only the next step since the very first kick, maintaining my mind set on the game, especially when things were going bad. My caddie and great friend, Tommaso Grandi has been very important in this journey, we talked a lot, we had fun together and of course there were also some discussions and it worked well.
How strong was the senior category?
Since the beginning, I knew that my Italian colleagues were my first opponents. At the end, the results confirmed my thought. Marco Trentin, Mirco Favero and Andrea Battaggia were very strong. At the last day, Andrea and I had a few strokes of difference only. Then, of course, I was expecting good scores from Marcel Pepper, Klaas Wjjers, Olivier Grava and Herman Van Ekeers also.
When have you gathered the information, what did you need to play in the last few holes to win against Peeper, the leader?
At hole 16, Tommaso told me that I was 1 under to Marcel, and he has already finished the tournament. I knew I had to make birdie at 17 to reach him and I did it.
What was in your mind before the last putt? You needed a birdie to win or par to tie and go to playoff with Peeper. Did you want to win or just place a safe ball next to the hole?
At the last hole, after the second shot – not so good to be honest – while Tommaso and I were walking to the ball, he asked me “what you’re going to do?” and I said, joking of course, “I’m going to make a birdie and tear down the golf club!” Unbelievable, it happened! A perfect putt left my foot and I will remember this moment forever.