Hogan vows to bounce back! Wicklow man loses crown

WICKLOW speedgolfer Rob Hogan has vowed to bounce back stronger than ever after narrowly losing his world title in the United States.

Rob, who is originally from Bray, came tied for second place at the Speedgolf World Championships at The Glen Club near Chicago, finishing four shots behind winner Jamie Young of the United States last week.

It meant he relinquished the title which he won last year and also in 2013, but rather than lament the loss, Rob is determined to work harder than ever to get back to winning ways.

“The tactics I brought to speedgolf in 2013 put me three years ahead of everyone else and I never really changed them because I had kept on winning. But now that I have lost, I will be working through the winter on a tactic, completely different from the last three years,” said Rob.

“The next two events are in New Zealand and Australia in March.

“The next few months I will be training every morning and working every afternoon and evening to try and make a living and to try get down under in one piece to unveil the most radical approach to Speedgolf ever, at least since the last most radical approach which was taken by me in 2013 and win every event on the calendar in 2017.”

In speedgolf, competitors combine their stroke play with the time it takes them to complete the round to determine their overall score.

Rob shot rounds of 82 and 82 in 46 and 44 minutes respectively for a final score of 254 in Chicago. It was his sixth second place in 12 tournaments — however he has won the other six tournaments.

Rob’s efforts to continuing competing in speedgolf tournaments around the world are being supported by Bray-based manufacturing supply company Hard Metal Machine Tools, who have sponsored Rob for more than a year.

“Without Hard Metal I would not have been there at all considering the considerable cost of this endeavour. Neither would I have been there last year when I won for the second time. Without Hard Metal I would not have the confidence to go out there and compete proudly for Ireland. I am very lucky to have a company like this behind me,” said Rob.

Hard Metal Managing Director Philip Hannigan said: “Rob has done fantastically well again, flying the flag for Ireland in the US.

“He’ll be disappointed not to have retained his world title but lost out to an excellent performance.

“He’ll bounce back from this and Hard Metal will continue to support him as he performs at the top of his sport around the world.”

Rob is also keen to stage a major Speedgolf event in Ireland.

He successfully hosted the inaugural Speedgolf Irish Open Championship at Galway Bay Golf Club last month, close to where he is now based, and will be running the second staging of the event in August 2017, which will be preceded by four qualifying events.