The Footgolf Devon league event 2 took place on Firday 19th May. The sun was out finally and the long awaited opening of HOLE 6 to its full capacity was made available for the Footgolf Devon league Footgolfers. The second league outing saw more newbies making their debuts and also the return of some old faces making their long awaited return at the field of dreams.
Andy Isaac was current league leader after match week one… so it was all to play for with the likes of Phillips, Hopton and Lewis hot on his tail … new comers also fancying a piece of the action was Luke Coombes, Ben Brown and new longest drive competitor Eliot Fisher.
Group One saw the return of Neil Keen, Steve Williams and under 16’s contender George Williams …they teamed up with Footgolf Devon’s regular Steve Parry who managed to attend at late notice – Steve Parry won the group with a very good 4 under par round (62)…keeping himself in touching distance of the leading pack – Making their return to footgolf, Neil Keen, Stephen Williams and his son George. Keeno (Neil Keen) shot a respectable 66 considering his absence from the sport and hopefully has recapture the footgolf bug again after a good steady round. Steve Williams will be hoping for a better score of 69 next time out as he looks to re-establish his skills on the footgolf scene once again. His son, George Williams showed his intent with a very good 74 and set a course record for 9 holes… this will heap some pressure on current under 16 leader Preston Beedell.
Group Two saw newcomer Jamie Cottrell score his best round yet with a 62 (-4) to show he can mix it up with the Footgolf elite players – he was watching and keeping score for the U12 category, where Jake Cottrell hit a course round for 9 holes for the U12’s to finish with a 68. Jake showed that he is a future footgolf champion already and will be a player for the future if he continues with these good scores. It was a close battle between Jaydan Hawkins & Jensen Black over the 18 holes and nothing could separate them after the final putt on the 18th as they both shot 77.
Group three was missing one player with the late absence of Sam Dallason… this left Footgolf Devon’s Sam Evans, his brother Ronnie Street and England international Chris Lewis battling out in this group. Anyone would think Sam designed the course with a fantastic 3 under par round (63), followed by Chris Lewis who had a difficult back 9 with a final score of 69, and Ronnie one shot back on 70.
Group Four saw the return of Dean Stevens along with returning hero Gary Fisher, England international Luke Phillips and established footgolfer Tomas Brown. Phillips continued his great form with a minus 6 round of 60. Fisher improved immensely on his previous round in match week 1 by 5 shots scoring a 5 under par 61. Deano (Stevens) and TP (Brown) battled for third and forth in this group and it was Deano who scraped in with course par 66 with Tomas one shot back on 67.
Group five was a 3 ball with the late withdrawal of Nadine Johns. This meant Footgolf Devon’s Paul Hawkins and his son Joe Hawkins would go round as a 3 with newcomer Ben Brown making his debut. Hawkins set the tone in this group with a 3 under par round of 63. Joe Hawkins was 6 shots back from his Dad with a 3 over par round of 69 – Ben Brown had an impressive start to competitive footgolf with a 72 however Brown will be looking to reduce this score over the coming months as he gets used to the beautiful game.
Matt Gardner, newcomer Luke Coombes, England hot-shot Chris Hopton and Ashley Bevan-Smith made up group six. It was the England international who stole the show in this group and also for the whole of match day 2 with a 9 under par score of 57. With some delightful approach shots and with the renowned steady putting technique, Hopton was in a league of his own. Matt Gardner was showing that despite being away from the game for a long time, he too can mix it with the big boys and is staking his claim as being a contender for player of the league 2023. 3rd and 4th spot in this group could not be separated with 17 year old Luke Coombes making his debut to the Footgolf League and to footgolf in general along with Ashley Bevan-Smith also only making his 2nd competitive outing in the sport. Both players finished at 1 under par with a credible score of 65
Group seven had Bret Ansley making his second outing in the Footgolf world, along with seasoned pro Tony Follet, Cornwalls very own Talan Annear and longest drive champion and newcomer Eliot Fisher. The man from St Austell stamped his claim on this group with a score of 64, making Talan a dangerous competitor in the footgolf league. Tony Follett struggled to capture the form of match day 1 and hit a 1 over par round of 67. Bret Ansley is beginning to move in the right direction and shaved off 3 shots from his last outing, going under 70 with a score of 69 (3 over par). Eliot Fisher finished this group, making his first competitive debut. Eliot will be disappointed with score of 73, after previous practice rounds showed he can hit under par, therefore this may be a score to be scratched off in the long run.
The final group saw match day 1 leader Andy Isaac, team up with Gareth Parker and Justin Yeates who was running late, as Justin Hunt was a late withdrawal. AI (Andy Isaac) continued his good form of 2023 with a 5 under par round (61), but despite the good score, was knocked off the top of the league table by Hot-shot Hopton. Yeates shot a 2 over par round which is 5 shots more than match day 1. He will be hoping for better preparation next time and may have felt rushed due to traffic delaying his arrival. G-man (Gareth Parker) hit a 76 which he will be disappointed with. With putts just not dropping, it could be a score the Gareth will look to scratch off as the match days continue.
Match Day 2 saw two England internationals take 1st and 2nd with Chris Hopton flying the flag with a round of 57 and fellow international team-mate Luke Phillips in second with 60. FGAOE’s experienced amateur Andy Isaac was tied 3rd with Gary Fisher who found his form again, both with a score of 61
Jamie Cottrell was the lowest scoring newcomer on the night along with his son Jake Cottrell in the under 12 category who continues to impress with his low scores. The Cottrell’s showing the league they will be a force to be reckon with over the next couple of months
George Williams stamped his intent on the under 16 category but with Preston Beedell looking to return along with Zoe Capel and also the eagerly awaited debut of Freddie Ansley, this category could be blown wide open.
The Footgolf Devon League is in full swing and its Chirs Hopton who takes the lead after two events, however with Chris and some others players away on international duty for Match Day 3 . . . we could see a change at the top once again. Join us LIVE on the 2nd June at 6pm for more Footgolf Devon League Action.
