Scotland's FootGolfers bidding for Four Nations success as they head south to face England, Wales and Ireland
Scotland's FootGolfers head south this weekend to take on England, Wales and Ireland.
They will battle it out at The Ashbury Golf Resort in Okehampton, Devon, in a bid to be crowned Four Nations FootGolf Champions. And captain David Stewart said his side are focused on trying to win the trophy, but know how difficult a task it will be. The 32-year-old said: "This is a great moment for myself to lead the team this weekend and a challenge I'm very much looking forward to. I'm unbelievably proud to be captaining my country, it really means a lot to me.
"The team has prepared well for this big event and can’t wait to get down there and give it our best shot. This is a big opportunity for everyone involved in the squad in what will be a tough test against some top FootGolfers from all four countries. We have a great team with high spirits and feel that if we have the right attitude then we can go as far as winning. It would be my best achievement in FootGolf to captain Scotland to Four Nations glory."
David, of Renfrew, Renfrewshire, was part of the Scottish side which lost out to Ireland in the final of the first Four Nations competition, in Kilkenny in 2022. He also played for the Scottish FootGolf team which competed at the 2023 FootGolf World Cup in Orlando, Florida.
They were eliminated from the tournament by eventual runners up Argentina, but bounced back well by winning the Brainstrust Cup last year, a competition involving Scotland, England and Wales. The Scotland squad is made up of 27 players - 17 men, four women, five seniors - aged 45 or older - and one junior.
All but one of the 27 play for Scottish sides, with players from Linlithgow-based Bridgend FootGolf Club, South Lanarkshire-based Glasgow FootGolf Club, Kingdom of Fife FootGolf Club, Cumbernauld FootGolf Club, and 2023 domestic Champions and Kilmarnock-based side Ayrshire FootGolf Club. The one player not playing their club FootGolf in Scotland is former World No 1 Claire Williams, who lives south of the border and plays for Gatwick FootGolf Club.
Matches this weekend see players taking on each other in Matchplays, with each match having nine men playing singles, three male pairs ties, two female singles ties, two seniors singles ties and one senior pairs tie, and a junior singles tie. Players will then receive a point for winning a tie, or half a point for drawing, with 18 points up for grabs in matches.
Countries will play each other once and be ranked in a league table, with the top two teams battling it out in a final. England kick off the proceedings against Wales at 8am on Saturday morning, with Ireland playing Scotland at 9,15am.
Scotland v England will take place at 1pm on Saturday, with Wales v Ireland beginning at 2.15pm. On Sunday morning, Wales v Scotland will begin at 8am, with Ireland v England starting at 9.15am. The third place playoff will then be at 1pm, while the final will start at 2.15pm. The action is being broadcast live on the FootGolf Association of Scotland Facebook page and will also be shown on YouTube, with commentary from Rob Lamarr.