The 13th WCF Golf Croquet World Championship
Sponsored by: Simon Carter
Venue: Sussex County Croquet Club, West Sussex, England
Dates: 27 July to 4 August 2019
Champion: Ben Rothman (USA)
Finalist: Mohamed Karem (Egypt)
Ben Rothman (USA) defeated Mohamed Karem (EGY) 7-5, 2-7, 3-7, 7-6, 7-5 in a six-hour final to become the first American to win a WCF world championship.
At one point, Rothman was 3-6 down in game 4 and Mohamed Karem seemed to be well set for a decisive victory. However, Rothamn fought back to 6-6. Karem took good position at hoop 13 with his first ball but Rothman cleared it at the second attempt. Karem had two chances to take the game and title with a 7 yard hoop shot and a 7 yard jump but neither were successful. In game 5, Rothman established an early but narrow lead and never relinquished it.
In the semi-finals, Karem played brilliantly to defeat the formidable Hamy Erian (EGY) by 7-5, 7-4, 6-7, 7-3 while Rothman went 2-0 down to 23-year old Josh Freeth (NZL), the 2015 Under 21 GC World Champion, before recovering to win 2-7, 3-7, 7-3, 7-5, 7-5.
Full results are available at https://croquetscores.com/2019/gc/wcf-simon-carter-golf-croquet-world-championship