The test for the best

Before organizing the second edition of Euro Footgolf, the United Kingdom will host a Major at the end of the summer. Magnolia Park, near Oxford, will be the home of the champions in this period of the year.

“The course at Magnolia Park was first used in 2016 for the English Open and staged of the UK Open in 2017 and 2018. The course has been re-designed for each event and will once again go through an update for the UK Open and Euro Footgolf in 2019,” said tournament director Paul Oliver. “The greenkeeper at Magnolia Park is outstanding and allows us to utilise all areas of his course, meaning we can really create something magical for the players. Of course, it is a typical Paul Oliver design to test the best mentally, physically and technically. Players will have to think about all shots from tee to green and calculate when to take a risk and attack or when to respect the course and the designer,” he added with a smile on his face. “Our last two winners — Liam Shutes and Antonio Balestra — have totally different games, which you can see in the design that a player really needs every shot to win on this course.”

The organizers hope that the cash purse will be the largest ever seen in the UK because the aim is to reward the players travelling across the world all year on the World Tour. “Clearly there is a need to reward players but there can be only one winner, so my main focus will be on making sure that all players feel like champions and have a fantastic time at the UK Open.”

This is the first FIFG Major the UK will host since its inception.

“I’m sure players know my attention to detail to create an unforgettable experience for the players. It’s also a great opportunity for the British players who haven’t got the option to leave our shores to play footgolf against some of the best around the world. I’m delighted to be working once again with the volunteer team from the World Cup, so we’ll have a team of staff including French, Spanish and Hungarian. These people were the unsung heroes in Marrakech, working from dawn till dusk for the love of the game.”

Besides the main event, they always stage the National Pairs Championship at the UK Open, which starts on Friday night, where anyone can enter in a pair. Teams will play an 18 hole qualifier and then on Saturday evening a series of short knockout matches until the final two pairs play the 18th hole to decide the winners. Last year, Michael Wilkes and Evgeniy Levchenko won an all Dutch final. Players are also invited to stay on after the UK Open and compete in the InterNational (FIFG250), which will take place at the Celtic Manor Resort on the 3rd and 4th of September. The event will take place on both mornings with Team UK and USA playing the Jansen Cup in the afternoon. The field at Celtic Manor is strictly limited to 120 players.

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