CHRISTIAN OTERO of Argentina won the Footgolf World Cup at Pilar Golf Club, near Buenos Aires, in Argentina on Sunday.

    Otero won the first day of the individual competition. He was the leader after Friday, but Mexican Enrique Reyes, Slovakian Jan Kozzk and Paul Oliver from the United States also came close.

    They went into the final on the closing day Sunday. The game became a two-man show after half time, Otero and Reyes seemed to be unstoppable. Then Otero reached the final hole with a three-point lead, which was enough for him to become the new world champion.

    China’s Liu Mengyang and Zhang Yunlong also entered the final Sunday, with Liu finishing 111st, and Zhang 138th in their World Cup debut. A total of 230 players from 26 countries participated in the event.

    On Saturday, after winning the quarter and semifinal by a big difference, the U.S. national footgolf team was unbeatable in the team’s final. They won the World Cup at the 16th hole.

    China finished 15th while Japan was 13th.

    Argentina came back and beat the United Kingdom by only one point in the semifinal. The U.S. team won the semi against Holland by eight points Saturday morning.

    After a short break, Argentina and the United States went to play 18 holes again following the match play format.

    Their game was a big tactical battle. At the 16th hole, the United States needed two points to win the final, and after Sharif Khatib reached the coast near the hole with the fewest kicks, he only needed to put the ball from four meters away in the hole. He did not miss it, and the celebration started.

    (SD News)