A GIFTED Ardrossan sportsman was on top of the world this week - after seeing off England in his international debut.

FootGolfer Rory "Cass" Cassidy sank two monster putts as he and pairs partner Tom McMahon dispatched their Auld Enemy counterparts.

Cass was called up to the Scotland team due to his impressive performances in this year's Tartan Super Series - the official FootGolf Scotland Tour.

Captain of Kilmarnock-based Caprington FootGolf Club, "Cass" turned out for his country in the clash at Muckhart Golf Club in Dollar, Clackmannanshire.

England were strong favourites for the tie, boasting World No 1 Ben Clarke and World No 2 Jamie Cullum in their ranks.

But the 16-strong Scotland squad pulled off a shock in the fixture, which comprised six men's singles matches, three mens pairs matches, two ladies singles matches and two over 45s matches.

The game was played on a newly-designed course, created especially for the Scottish Open, which took place the following day.

Cass (32) was paired with Glasgow-man Thomas (36) and they faced Karl May (30) and Mikey Downey (25).

Cass and Tom were clear underdogs in the fixture, which was in matchplay format - meaning each pair was awarded a point for each of the 18 holes where they had the better score, and a point would then be awarded to the country who won each tie.

Cass was relishing the chance to represent his country, having finished in the top five in the first two Scottish tournaments this season, and was over the moon with the result, as he and Tom won their fixture and Scotland won 8-5 overall.

He said: "It's hard to describe the buzz from finding out I'd made the team, to playing in the game, winning our tie and winning overall.

"It's honestly up there with becoming a dad. It's a great feeling to be seen as one of the best players in the country and, as clichéd as it sounds, it was always was a dream of mine to play football for Scotland. This is the next best thing - I did get to kick a ball for my country!

"Thanks to my sponsor, Kevin Logan, at ABC Beds for putting his faith in me.

"The support is really appreciated and, without it, I may not have become a Scottish internationalist. I honestly can't thank him enough."

Cass and Tom raced in to a 5-0 lead in their tie but lost the eighth hole, leaving them 5-1 up after the front nine, and won the tie 6-4 after being 6-2 up going in the 16th hole.

Added Cass: "Officially we won the tie on the 15th hole when I sank a monster putt, meaning we were four up with only three holes to play. But in my opinion we actually won it on the 12th hole. They had finished the hole in three shots and Tom had a long, difficult, uphill putt.

"He narrowly missed but it landed about 20 yards away from the hole in an equally difficult position. I had to sink it to tie the hole and I did - I nailed it and that was it for me, the game was won."

There is a return leg in England in September, and the winner across both legs will be awarded a trophy.

Cass said: "I can't wait for the return leg and am again buzzing to pull on the Scotland jersey once again.

"Tom and I worked really well together when we played and I'm looking forward to teaming up again. I'm confident we can notch another win."

Tom added: "I was really proud to not just play for the country but also to win a valuable point. I would hope that we can take that partnership, spirit and performance into the away leg.

Anybody interested in joining Caprington FootGolf Club, or playing on the Tartan Super Series Tour, can contact Caprington FootGolf Club on Facebook and Twitter, both of which are @CapringtonFCG.