Northants walking footballer Haynes wins footgolf open major

The tournament took place at Ashbury Golf resort in Devon and had 153 footgolf participants from 19 different countries. Ashbury Golf resort is the 9th largest golf facility in the world.

Paul who used to play for Moulton Masters walking football team, beat the English Footgolf number one George Anderson by three strokes after 54 holes of footgolf concluded on Sunday 25th August 2024.

"It was a privilege to witness some world class players in action, including Niclas Nyberg from Sweden who £1,000 in the hole in one charity challenge & former Atletico Madrid, Udinese, Granada professional footballer Carlos Calvo Sobrado who won the mens competition" - said Paul

Speaking of his own success Paul said "George Anderson is a quality player with a wand of a left foot, so to beat the reigning 65s champion was a real challenge & right up to the very last hole George was very much in contention"

He added - "Its been a very stop start year for me as I was ill for three months at the start of the year & a combination of antibiotics & my wife Karen's excercise support got me back to full fitness, so to win an open major is as close as I will ever get to knowing what a its like to win at Wimbledon or Royal Birkdale in an international competition and a real sporting pinnacle for me"

The win moves Paul Haynes up to 2nd place in the over 65s Footgolf Association of England national rankings and 9th in the over 55s category.