A New York golfer broke this crazy golf world record just days after a new mark was set
With all the treacherous course conditions this week at Oakmont that we've been told about again and again (and again), we can expect some extra-long rounds of golf being played at the U.S. Open. But no one will come close to spending as much time playing over four days than one New Yorker recently did. And he did it without taking a break.
Introducing Kelechi Ezihie, a 27-year-old who broke a world record by playing golf for 36 consecutive hours earlier this week at Huntington Crescent Club on Long Island. That's right, 36 HOURS. In a row.
CBS News first had the cool story of Ezihie, who only got into golf a couple years ago and wants to spread the game to people in his native Nigeria.
"People assume that golf is for the wealthy and I'm trying to change that," Ezihie, who hopes to build a golf center in Nigeria, told CBS News. "The goal is to let people know that golf is a game for everybody. Whatever your economic background or somebody with special needs, you can play the game of golf."
Back to the record, Ezihie began his marathon round at 6 p.m. and planned to play for "only" 24 consecutive hours. But at around 3 a.m., he found out that a 25-year-old British assistant pro named Isaac Rowlands had just played 32 hours in a row a couple weeks before at Lofoten Links in Norway, where the sun doesn't set this time of year.
So Ezihie kept going. Even through the rain.
"A little shower doesn't spoil the dream and the goal," Ezihie told CBS News.
Congrats to Kelechi. And condolences to poor Isaac for only holding the record for a few days. That's a tough beat. Anyway, you can watch CBS News' report on Ezihie here:
As noted, the rules stated Ezihie could only take a five-minute break every hour. Otherwise he had to keep walking and swinging. He has submitted his accomplishment to Guinness officials to be reviewed before he is officially acknowledged as a world record holder.
In the meantime, we'll have to wait and see if anyone else breaks this mark. It's a copycat league out there. OK, now back to our regularly scheduled U.S. Open coverage.
