Thousands tune in for FootGolf showdown

Nearly 4000 viewers watched Neil Shave, of Doune, Perthshire, and Matthew Morgan, of Cupar, who are two of the best FootGolfers in the world, battling it out at Cluny Activities.

The pair both play for Kingdom of Fife FootGolf Club, which is based at the course, and are the former Scotland captain and vice-captain.

They faced off earlier this month/last month, during the club’s 2020 Matchplay Championship, with Neil coming out on top in the clash.

They have won a host of silverware in their careers and played together as pairs partners on the UK Tour and with Scotland and Team UK.

They were part of the Team UK side that won two pieces of silverware last year, firstly defeating Team USA in The Jansen Cup - a Ryder Cup-style event between the nations at The Celtic Manor Resort in Wales, where the 2010 Ryder Cup was staged.

They were then crowned European Champions after defeating France in the final of the European Championships, after beating Slovakia, Belgium, Italy, Hungary and Holland on route to the final.

And they were also key players in the Scotland side that won the Tri-Nations Cup with Scotland in the three-way contest with England and Wales in September.

But 32-year-old Neil, who was the 2019 UK number seven and 26-year-old Matt, who was the 2019 World number six, UK number two and Scottish National Champion, faced off in a showdown tie.

Nearly 4000 viewers tuned in to watch the tie, which was broadcasted on the club’s Facebook page - www.facebook.com/KingdomofFifeFGC - and saw Neil sealing a 5-2 win.

Golf is one of the sports allowed under the reduced coronavirus lockdown measures and, as FootGolf is played to the same rules as golf, one-by-one matchplay fixtures between people from different households are permitted.

The fixture saw both players completing 18 holes on the course, with a point being awarded to a player when they won a hole, by completing it in fewer strokes than their opponent.

Neil, who is also head of the FootGolf Association of Scotland, said: “It was always going to be a tough match against one of the best players in the world.

“On top of that, I rate Matt as possibly the best wind player around so to get the win was huge for me.

“It was a fun match to play in as well with us being close friends and pairs partners, it’s added a little something extra

“It is amazing to see how many people the live video has reached.”

Anyone interested in playing FootGolf can get more details on the club’s Facebook page.