AFGL Tour • Crystal Springs Resort, Hamburg, NJ
The U.S. FootGolf Open 2024 returned an international FootGolf event to the Northeastern United States for the first time in a decade. For many years, the signature international tournament of the AFGL Tour was held in traditionally warmer climates, abundant with sunshine and heat.
This year, the players were presented with a different set of challenges. Early spring weather in the state of New Jersey can be unpredictable, and the field discovered this on day one. Welcome to Practice Day!
Thursday April 18th. Practice Round • Players were impressed with the majestic views and the magnificence of Crystal Springs Resort, while discovering a very technical course.
Friday April 19th. Round 1 • Howling winds and chilly temps tested the competition on day 1 with only 7 players able to break par. FootGolf legend Ben Clarke and the popular Scottish player Callum Haig joked: "it's not too cold, this is Summer for us, we feel at home!"
Saturday April 20th. Round 2 • The second round gave us all a glimpse of how beautiful a spring Jersey day can be. Bright sun and a much calmer breeze helped a majority of the field to improve their scores and show that it was possible for this demanding course to be bested. Just as quickly as the sun and warmth arrived for that day, it was gone by the next morning.
Sunday April 21st. Final Round • In the third day of competition, we were back to the cold air and pesky wind, as the players at the top battled it out for the title.
Women’s Champ, Jo Reid outpaced a hopeful women’s field, eventually running away and finishing as the only female to score under par at -3. Might we add that Jo also managed to score a hole-in-one on the menacing Hole 6.
Slawomir Przybysz, led wire to wire to complete an impressive tournament for his first US Open victory in the Senior Plus category. Slawomir and his son Matthew who finished 2nd in the Men Category, represented their conuntry Poland at the 3rd FIFG FootGolf World Cup Orlando 2023.
One of 3 players to return to Crystal Springs Resort having played here 10 years ago, Mark "Woody" Woodward was able to put together an impressive performance in Round 2, holding off his pursuers throughout Round 3 and winning the Senior crown.
Inarguably the number one player in the world, Ben Clarke took full advantage of the milder weather in Round 2 to post an impressive 13 under (57), allowing him to cruise to an 6 stroke victory over the rest of the field and another US Open Championship.
As member of the American FootGolf League, Sporting Director of the American FootGolf Federation and Atlantic United FootGolf Club, I want to thank personally - and in the name of the organizations and players I represent - for coming all the way to our home course in the Northeast and for supporting the event from the distance.
A special thanks to Gyorgy Podusil from Hungary, Matias Perrone from Argentina, and our very own Woody Woodward for making the efforts to be present in the U.S. FootGolf Open 2024 to play on the same course they played the first U.S. Pro-Am Series a decade ago!
This event will be aired on the FootGolf Channel in May. Next year we plan to return to Crystal Springs Resort for the event but at a different time of the year where the scenery will be as beautiful as it was this year, only hopefully, a bit warmer.
The American FootGolf League wants to express their sincere gratitude to Art Walton and the leadership at Crystal Springs Resort and their entire team for allowing us to come back to the original course, in a busy time of the year for golf, to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the first U.S. Pro-Am along with the participation of three foursomes of players and their parents from the New Jersey Youth Soccer Association. A special mention to Kimberly McNamara for helping with the groups of young footgolfers and their parents, and acting as a Marshall for the entire weekend, including helping to run the friendly pairs competition at Minerals Golf Course. Also to Kevin Carpenter and the CSR Team for their help in collaborating with the tournament in general.
Thank you again to all the national and international players, congratulations to the winners and to the American players who qualified for Team USA that will represent the United States in Scotland in late August this year in The Jansen Cup IV, the 2nd event in our Road to Great Britain 2024! (some players will be also playing the Scottish FootGolf Open and English FootGolf Open, both prestigious FIFG events) • See TEAM USA 2024 qualified players at www.RTGB24.com •
See you at The Nationals 2024!
Sean
TO READ MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE U.S. FOOTGOLF OPEN 2024, SEE THE PHOTO GALLERY OF THE CHAMPIONS AND FULL LEADERBOARDS PER CATEGORY, VISIT THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE AT WWW.THEUSOPEN.ORG
Sean McNamara
AFGF Sporting Director
AFGF New Jersey Chapter
Team USA Co-Captain
AFGL Tour Player
Atlantic United FGC Player
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