In just its second year of existence, the Speedgolf World Championship assembled an elite field of 55 speed golfers from six different countries who competed for the 2013 title at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort on October 26-27. Among the field was Canberra club golfer Virginia Deigan. “There are six countries represented in all and Virginia Deigan and James Templeton from Australia will be making the longest trip”, said Tim Scott, executive director of Speedgolf International. “It&aposs been tough preparing for this event over the Canberra Winter but it has all been worth it and I am very excited to be playing”, said Virginia Deigan, member of Capital Public Golf Course in Canberra. Deigan, an amateur club golfer with a golf handicap of 13 and 5km run time of 23 minutes, is aiming to beat her personal best speedgolf score of 84 strokes in 61minutes, 10 seconds. “It won&apost be easy. From what I have heard, Bandon Dunes is a tough links course, and much longer than what I am used to. But the good thing about speedgolf is that you don&apost need to be the best golfer to be in contention”, said Deigan who will be the first female Aussie to compete at this speedgolf event. “We are very excited about this year s championship. The quality and depth of the field this year is unprecedented in Speedgolf history”, said Tim Scott. The field has several marquee competitors, including two track and field athletes who have seven Olympic appearances and three Olympic medals between them. Nick Willis, New Zealand, won the silver medal in the 1,500 meters at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Bernard Lagat, Tucson, Ariz., won the 2007 world championship in the 1,500 and 5,000 meters. Defending Speedgolf world champion Christopher Walker, Woodlands, Tex., returns to defend his title. The former Notre Dame golf team captain is pursuing a professional golf career through the mini-tour circuit. The field is divided into two divisions: Pro/Elite (30 players, 36 holes) and Age-Groupers (25 players, 18 holes). Deigan will compete in the age-group division playing Sunday, on the Bandon Dunes course. The format of Speedgolf is simple: Total strokes plus the total minutes and seconds it takes the player to complete his or her round. At last year s world championship Walker shot 77 in 53:29 in Round 1, and 76 in 56:59 in Round 2 for a two-day total of 263.28. The Speedgolf world record for a single round is 109.06 (65 in 44:06), set by Christopher Smith, Portland, Ore., at the 2005 Chicago Speedgolf Classic. Smith is also in this year s field. The championship will be broadcast live online by Oomba.tv. The same coverage can also be seen on BandonDunesGolf.com. Broadcast times are from 0200hrs 0600hrs AEDT (October 27th and 28th). Speedgolf will be represented at the upcoming “Get Active” expo in Canberra being held at the Budawang Pavilion & Flemington Park, Exhibition Park on Sunday 1st December 2013 10:00am until 4:30pm. The expo will host more than 60 exhibitors. The Canberra Get Active Expo is a great way to find out about the activities Canberra has to offer for getting active. Be sure to stop by the speedgolf stall and speak with Virginia about participation in speedgolf.
Author: Speed Golf International