Clarke is voted player of the year by his peers

Berkhamsted's Ben Clarke has been voted the player of the year by his fellow international FootGolfers.
Ben Clarke with his Player of the Year trophy, presented at The Capital Cup competition in The Netherlands recentlyBen Clarke with his Player of the Year trophy, presented at The Capital Cup competition in The Netherlands recently
Ben Clarke with his Player of the Year trophy, presented at The Capital Cup competition in The Netherlands recently

The world number two has had a successful run in the sport, a cross between football and golf. It is played similarly to golf, but with a football kicked rather than struck with a club. Players work toward a 21-inch “cup” instead of the usual golf hole.

At the recent The Capital Cup tournament held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, the sport’s yearly awards were held.

Players from across the world voted for players in the different categories of Best Player, Best Young Player, Best Female, Best Country and Shot of the Year.

Clarke said: “It’s a nice side event for FootGolf players to gain recognition from other players.

“I was fortunate enough for all of the players across the world to have voted me “Best Player”.

“I was in the same category as the 2016 world champion, the French national champion, the Holland national champion and European champion.

“As you can imagine, it was an amazing feeling to have been voted by my fellow competitors.”

His recent success in competitions has seen him win a World Tour event in America, The Las Vegas Open, which pushed his ranking to number two in the world.

He was also part of the UK team which beat the United States in the Ryder Cup of FootGolf, the Jansen Cup, at Desert Willow Golf Resort in California.

In the actual The Capital Cup competition in The Netherlands, which is the season’s first major of the World Tour, Clarke ended up finishing 13th out of more than 320 players and was just three points off the lead in an extremely tight tournament.

Day one of the competition was cancelled due to torrential rain flooding the golf course which meant it was just a two-day event instead of the planned three days.

Next up for Clarke is the Norwegian Open.

The Berkhamsted man is looking for help with sponsorship.

If you can assist, email ben [email protected].