Fencer foils the field to lift crazy golf world title

HASTINGS, England (Reuters) - Marc Chapman, a professional fencing coach, proved he was as adept with a putter as he was with a sword as he claimed the World Crazy Golf Championships title on England's south coast.

The left-hander from England navigated the giant windmills, tunnels and uneven bounces to record a seven-round total of 26-under-par in a tournament organisers dubbed the "flagship event on the Mini Golf calendar".

Chapman, known as "The Force", won 1,000 pounds ($1,338) for topping the 59-person mixed-gender, international field in Hastings over the weekend.

"I bring a different angle to it when I play mini golf and the competitors know that in a mental fight, I'm up for it," Chapman told Reuters.

"I just love the thrill of having a go, asking questions, seeing what other peoples' responses are. And yeah, it worked."

(Writing by Patrick Johnston; Editing by Andrew Heavens)