Matthew Essick, a member of Hartfield’s Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club (CBCC), won the Golf Croquet World Championships in southern England on Sunday, Aug. 7.
The world golf croquet championships are conducted every other year and this year was the 14th time they have been conducted and only the second time an American has won. This year the nine-day championships took place in the U.K.’s Shoreham-by-Sea and 62 croquet players from 22 countries competed for the title.
In the finals, it was Essick winning over one of the best croquet players of all time, Robert Fulford from England. This was Essick’s first world championship.
At 23 years old, Essick is no new-comer to the game. He started playing when he was 5 and has come into his own in the past several years, winning National championships in three of the four styles of croquet played competitively in the US — golf croquet, American six wicket and association croquet.
“At CBCC we are very proud of Matthew Essick for his accomplishments on the court and his professional and kind-hearted demeanor off the court,” CBCC rep Macey White said.
Essick should be returning to Virginia in September to compete in the USA National Association Championship held at the Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club on Sept. 11-17.
