Kiwi fast and first

Four years after a heartbreaking runners-up finish, New Zealand’s Jamie Reid has blitzed the field to claim the Speedgolf World Championships crown in the United States. The New Plymouth local, who was already ranked No 1 in the world, smacked and sprinted his way to a maiden world title in St Augustine, Florida, yesterday. Speedgolf places equal emphasis on both strokes and time, with players aiming to shoot as low as possible while getting around the course as quickly as possible. Having had to settle for second place in 2018 in New York after losing out to Finland’s Mikko Rantanen by one second on the time tiebreaker, Reid made sure to avenge that, in the two-round event which saw the other Kiwi in the 36-man men’s field, Robin Smith, finish sixth. Reid laid down the challenge in the opening round, posting the equal-best golf score of the day, though his oneunder 71 was achieved in 43 minutes 1 sec. Reid and Smith will now turn their attention to the Team World Cup event in Florida.

Jamie Reid, left, won the Speedgolf World Championships title in the United States, with Robin Smith, right.