1. 7372
trading pipe
for putter
Windelsham Golf Club is a
hushed, gladded oasis of carefully
manicured fairways, nestled in
Surrey commuter belt. Here Pimms
is supped on the terrace by sun-
kissed gentile members, while
music, if any, is of the
hushed, harmonious
kind.
It is perhaps the
most unlikely setting
for a congregation of
action sports heroes, yet
on the 19th and 20th of
May that is exactly what
occurred: the Oakley
King of Greens rolled up
to disturb the peace.
First a gas guzzling Red Bull
DJ tank shouldered its way onto
the sun terrace, sparked up a genie
and sent club members scurry
from its beats. Then came the
hitters in dribs and drabs, with the
likes of snowboarders Ben Kilner,
Gjermund Bratten and Heikki
Sorsa, base jumper Cedric Dumont
and Swedish Skateboarder Erik
Pettersson rocking up and rolling
onto the fairways.
Day one was just a friendly
knock about but come Tuesday
the assembled athlete/s were
divided into flights of three and
four players, of which there were
nine in total. Favorites to win
were last year/s winner Cedric
Dumont, Norwegian freeski
champ PK Hunder, snowboarder
Konsti Schad and Tobi Tritcher;
while there were also a handful of
players, including British Olympic
piper Ben Kilner and Olympic
bronze medalist boarder-
crosser Konsti Schad who
were also sporting single
figure handicaps.
Each flight would
play eighteen holes of the
Windelsham course, with a
surprise game of «Beat the
Pro» – getting nearest the
pin – on the 14th, against
guest two-time European
Champion Rafa Cabrera-
Bello. Surprisingly, Rafa
was beaten four times, by Andrew
Eddy, Oli Walker, Gjermund
Bratten and Cedric Dumont.
As the 18 holes drew to a
close the weather broke and the
last flight to come in were soaked
to the bone. A glitch in the computer
scoring lead to a manual recount,
with the surprise result that Ben
Kilner and big wave surfer Alain
Riou were drawn neck and neck on
23 points, with favorite PK a single
point behind in third.
Thankfully, the drizzle lifted
just long enough for a playoff
between Alain and Ben on the par
5 18th. There was much to play for,
as the winner would not only be
crowned Oakley/s King of Greens
but also receive a wildcard to the
following day/s PGA European
Tour Pro-Am contest, in Wentworth
playing alongside Rafa, and a
priceless Nixon timepiece.
Ben would later admit that
he was more nervous teeing off
than he was dropping into the
Olympic pipe but, despite shaking
with fear, he was able to chip out
of the rough, onto the green and
sink a fine ball to beat the visibly
disappointed Alain Riou by a
single stroke.
«It was a close shave!» he
admitted later. «I never thought
I would get that far, but then I
became really ambitious and
definitely wanted to win that thing.
Now, I/m just super happy».
The following day Ben went
on to win at the PGA European Tour
Pro-Am contest; it would seem that
he can apply his natural talents to
pretty much any sport. Living proof
that the Oakley King of Greens
isn/t just a season ender jolly but
a great stage for actionsport/s
budding golfers.
www.king-of-greens.com
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Ben Kilner wins the Oakley King of Greens
text and photography / Danny Burrows