Harry Bateman and Amy Linton have been crowned elite world champions at the TORO World Speedgolf Championships at Whitford Park, leading a dominant New Zealand showing on home soil.
Bateman edged fellow Kiwi Jamie Reid by just 55 seconds in the combined speedgolf scoring, while Brad Hayward completed a New Zealand sweep of the podium in the elite men’s competition.
Linton overturned an overnight deficit to beat France’s Emily Mollard to the women’s title, with defending world champion Liz McKinnon third.
Bateman Turns The Tables
Reid had set the opening-day pace with 71 strokes in 38 minutes 39 seconds, producing a combined score of 109:39.
That left Bateman 3:17 behind heading into Thursday.
His response was decisive.
Bateman completed his second round in a level-par 71 and 39:31 for a combined 110:31. Added to his opening 112:56, that gave him a two-round total of 223:27.
Reid was again quicker around the course, completing his second lap in 38:43, but his 76 strokes produced a combined 114:43.
That left him second on 224:22, only 55 seconds behind the new world champion.
The final round demonstrated the balance at the heart of speedgolf: every golf stroke counts as the equivalent of one minute before the running time is added.
Bateman needed five fewer strokes than Reid on Thursday, more than offsetting the 48 seconds Reid gained through speed.
Hayward completed the Kiwi podium with a two-round total of 232:07.
Linton Surges To The Title
Amy Linton also started Thursday chasing an overseas leader.
The Kiwi trailed Mollard by 2:17 after the opening round but improved both her golf and running numbers on day two.
Linton reduced her stroke count from 80 to 74 while lowering her time from 55:27 to 52:47.
That produced a second-round score of 126:47 and a two-round total of 262:14.
Mollard finished on 264:56, leaving her 2:42 behind Linton in second.
McKinnon added another strong New Zealand presence, reaching 270:26 to finish third.
Senior Kiwis Also Feature
New Zealand also finished near the front of both senior competitions.
Troy Harold finished second in the senior men’s division on 257:20, behind Finland’s Marko Kuningas.
Renee Fowler took second in the senior women’s competition on 303:36.
Her margin is particularly narrow, with Great Britain’s Colette Blacklock ahead by only 33 seconds on 303:03.
Team World Cup Next
The championship programme continues at Whitford Park with the ISGA Team World Cup on Friday 6 November.
After a dominant individual competition, New Zealand will be looking to add team honours on home soil.
With two elite world titles already secured, Bateman and Linton will head into Friday as the players to beat.
