Paddy Power Golf Shootout: LIVE coverage of the tournament as it happened

It's golf... but not as you know it.

By / Golf / 5 years ago

Golf, eh? If you’re cruel you’d say it’s the realm of middle-aged reply-guy dads who can no longer do any other sport.

But that’s completely unfair, because a lot of current and retired professional footballers also seem to enjoy it too. And there are some people who even do it for money, though we’re not sure if that’s simply urban legend.

PADDY’S GUIDE:

Either way, Paddy’s got a big tournament taking place today, namely the Paddy Power Shootout, an epic event featuring superstars like Harry Kane, Peter Crouch, Andrew Flintoff and Andrew “Beef” Johnston. Piers Morgan is also involved.

It all starts at 12pm with a skills challenge. So tune in to our social channels to watch it live, or via the Twitter embed below. Here at Paddy Power News we’ll bring you all the funniest moments, the best shots and all the drama – as well as live blogging the tournament throughout the day. Bookmark this page now!

The event is subject to a rigorous, government-approved Covid-19 testing process, with all participants – and skeleton production crew- tested before being permitted to attend.

17:35 – And Redknapp has taken it!

What a turn-up for the books. The 18/1 shot has done it, seeing off some serious competition.

For his troubles, he wins absolutely nothing except pride. Which, I think you’ll agree, is pretty appropriate for a former Tottenham player.

17:33 – Meanwhile, the mockery of dear old Crouchy continues

Give the man a break, Admin.

17:31 – We’re into the closing stages of the Shootout here

Jamie Redknapp is taking on Carly Booth in a three-ball contest. Redknapp looks nervous.

17:24 – Harry Kane can hit a golf ball, our social media team is now fawning over him

Is there anything this man cannot do? Win an international or domestic football trophy, perhaps?

17:13 – Redknapp’s on fire

In surely his longest spell without an injury playing sport… Redknapp is on FIRE.

He’s just beaten Tommy Fleetwood to make it two wins from two.

17:10 – Crouch Kane’d

Harry Kane redeems himself by beating Peter Crouch… in just one shot.

17:06 – Redknapp beats Bjorn

Fair play to Jamie Redknapp, he’s beaten Thomas Bjorn in his first match of the second half of the Shootout.

17:03 – Fleetwood gets off to a good start

Harry Kane 0 – 25 Tommy Fleetwood.

Not really that surprising. One’s a striker for Spurs, the other is a pro golfer.

16:55 – Carly Booth is even better, though

The newest arrival to the course has smashed it.

Carly books her place in the final by winning 4 of out 4 matches.

She’ll play the winner of the second group, featuring Thomas Bjorn, Peter Crouch, Harry Kane, Jamie Redknapp and Tommy Fleetwood.

16:50 – Piers is annoyingly quite good

He’s finally off the mark, beating Freddie 25-5.

But we all know who the real winner is.

16:46 – McGinley nails 20 points… but it’s not enough

The pros have shown the also-rans how it’s done.

McGinley clocked up 20 points, but Carly Booth made it 3 wins out of 3 with 30 points, with 25 coming off the final shot.

16:43 – Piers loses again

Another defeat for Piers. This time Beef’s done the business.

…You’re still thinking about him falling off that chair, aren’t you?

16:40 – Freddie is ALL of us

Can’t fault this reaction. Meanwhile in the actual golf, Flintoff just lost 15-5 to Carly.

16:38 – Here’s the magic moment

Here’s the video you’ve been waiting for.

TBH can’t wait for it to go viral.

16:33 – Piers ties with Gins

Fresh off setting a new world record, Ireland’s own Paul McGinley nailed the first 10-pointer of the Shootout for a total of 15.

Piers bounced back (somewhat) from his embarrassing start, by nailing a 10-pointer of his own as he drew 15-15 with Gins.

16:29 – Freddie draws a blank

Zero points for Freddie Flintoff in his first go at the Shootout.

Beef duly showed him how it’s done, by scoring 15 points.

That’s two wins for the pros so far in the Shootout.

16:23 – Piers Morgan is DOWN

We might as well pack up and go home – nothing, NOTHING, will be better than this.

After scoring 5 points in his head-to-head against Carly Booth, Piers strode back to his chair, and promptly went flying backwards, and fell flat on his arse. Shame.

The good news didn’t end there, Carly duly beat Piers 10-5.

16:20 – What’s going on Paddy?

So, there’s a new set of rules for the second part of today’s shootout.

There are two pins to aim for – one for the pros, and one for the amateurs.

It’s all explained in this handy guideand the rather lovely video below too.

16:15 – We’re back!

Our sporting legends, golf stars… and Piers Morgan are back out on the course.

They’ve been joined by Scottish golfer Carly Booth, who makes it 5v5 after Harry Kane’s arrival earlier this afternoon.

15:45 – Rain delays play

And wouldn’t you know it – after a fortnight of the sun splitting the stones, the heavens decide to open as soon as we put on an outdoor event.

Due to a downpour, we’ll be back in action at 4.15pm.

15:43 – We’ve set a world record

Or rather, golf-genius Paul McGinley has set a world record. And a real one too – there were people from the Guinness World Records team there and everything.

One of the challenges was to set a new Guinness World Records title by racking up the most putts from a socially-distant two meters in just 60 seconds. After our celebs failed to get anywhere near, it was the turn of the pros.

After Tommy Fleetwood knocked in a handy 15 putts, it was over to Ireland’s McGinley to go one better. Which he did.

You can read all about it – and watch footage of the record being broken – by clicking here.

15:36 – Watch if you dare

Piers has been making a victory speech, which is a sentence that will send shivers down many a spine across the land.

And if that wasn’t enough, how about some super slo-mo?

14:40 – We’re sad to report that Piers has won

The competitors are now taking a well-earned lunch, so it’s time to look back on what went down in the morning session. Don’t forget there’s an entire afternoon session to come once they’ve finished stuffing themselves full of prawn sandwiches.

Anyway, we’ve got through the first eight challenges and we’re devastated to announce that Piers Morgan and Tommy Fleetwood held firm to take it all. Here are some highlights from some of the events.

Once that was done and dusted, Harry Kane decided to show up straight after training with Spurs and knock a few balls into a hole.

Kane did very well indeed, but the World Record-setting was best left for the pros.

Join us after lunch at 3.45pm when there will be a very special guest arriving at the course.

13:36 – Poor old Crouchy has been getting dog’s abuse

This is very poor treatment of a football legend who once scored zero league goals in a six-month stint at Burnley. We do not endorse such shenanigans over here on Paddy Power News, where we are all about #Respect.

Meanwhile, Piers Morgan and Tommy Fleetwood are probably going to win this. FML.

13:20 – Don’t forget we’ve got Harry Kane coming up later

That’s right, England captain Harry Kane.

What else do you need to know?

13:18 – Piers just won’t be beat

No. No no no no no.

Please. If there is a god.

We will never hear the end of this.

13:08 – Fleetwood/Morgan threatening to run away with this

It turns out that Tommy Fleetwood is quite good at golf.

12:57 – Meanwhile, we’re on to Challenge Four

Don’t forget to watch live.

12:55 – Piers, thankfully, is not good at the Happy Gilmore Drive

He’ll need to hack that one out of the rough.

12:50 – Tommy Fleetwood looks like Stuart Broad

Are we just going to let this slide?

12:47 – Put your arse into it, mate

Here’s the Beef making a bourguignon out of the ball in the Happy Gilmore Drive:

12:34 – A quick update on what you can expect for the rest of the day

In total, there are EIGHT challenges of varying difficulty that will play out over the course of today. Here’s what they’ll look like:

  • Challenge 1: Golf Pong
  • Challenge 2: Happy Gilmore Drive
  • Challenge 3: The Hardest Shot in Golf
  • Challenge 4: Now You See It, Now You Don’t
  • Challenge 5: Golfing Goals
  • Challenge 6: Nearest The Pin, Kids.
  • Challenge 7: Race Against Time
  • Challenge 8: Crouch & Putt (Guinness World Record)

Intriguing stuff.

We’ve had two already today, with Fleetwood/Morgan currently top of the pile with 5 points.

12:25 – Morgan & Fleetwood take the first round

Oh dear. Please don’t let him win.

Next up is the Happy Gilmore tee-off. I’m backing Freddy on this one. He’ll dance down the wicket and smash it out of the ground.

12:15 – Morgan impresses early on

The first challenge in the Shootout was golf pong and, sadly for the entire universe, Piers Morgan gained an early confidence boost by earning 50 points in the buckets.

His feat seemed to rattle the opponents, with Thomas Bjorn and Jamie Redknapp subsequently failing to register even one on target. It took 29 shots after Morgan’s heroic effort for the next points to be scored, with Paul McGinley eventually registering a “half-Morgan” for 25.

12:03 – And they’re off

Here we go. I am excited. Are you excited?

F*cking right you are! It’s live sport.

12:02 – We’re about ready to go…

…and the competitors are milling about in their pen. Look at them there. Seasoned, hardened athletes getting ready to strut their stuff, and Piers is there as well.

11:47 – A golfer has arrived at the golf course

Speaking of beef, here’s the real thing in the form of Andrew Johnston.

He’s got an umbrella in his hand – what’s he going to do with it? Whack a golf ball into a golf hole? Take off, Poppins-style, in an effort to find himself an agent who won’t ask him to hold his own umbrella? Shield himself from precipitation?

Time will tell.

11:39 – Flintoff is onsite!

Frederick Flintoff has arrived at the course. Light the beacons of Gondor.

Pretty interested to see what the handsome beefy bastard can do with a golf club in his hands. He’s got the build to hit it a long way.

11:37 – A little glimpse of the type of thing you can expect today

What’s that? Football goalposts on a golf course?

My word, this must have taken hours of planning in the marketing department.

But what purpose will these nets serve when it’s time to get going? You’ll have to tune in to find out.

11:34 – Everything is ready to go over at the course

Things are looking pristine, with every precaution taken to ensure the safety of our stars.

READ MORE:

Watch the Paddy Power Shootout here

What do you think?