By John Huggan
In the wake of its debut and Team Denmark’s victory last May, the verdict wasn’t quite unanimous in its positivity. But the overall impression was pretty welcoming. Indeed, the inaugural GolfSixes showed a 42-percent increase in new golf fans at the event compared to regular European Tour events. Those attendees were also 14 percent younger than those seen during the rest of the golfing calendar. “GolfSixes will definitely be back,” said the European Tour’s chief executive, Keith Pelley.

And so it is, bigger and, hopefully, better. Or, at least, different. In addition to the 12 two-man national sides made up of European Tour players from various European countries, four wildcard pairs will complete the 16-team field at the Centurion Club north of London, May 5-6. Most intriguingly, Europe’s Ryder and Solheim Cup captains, Thomas Bjorn and Catriona Matthew, will combine, along with an England women’s team of Georgia Hall and Charley Hull and a European women’s team of Mel Reid and Suzann Pettersen. A fourth and final wildcard pairing will be added at a later date.

“There are so many 72-hole tournaments around the world that there has to be room for something else which puts a different spin on golf and brings more interest,” Bjorn said. “This is not your normal golf tournament where everyone is very serious and has their heads down. This is completely different, it’s more about having fun and portraying the game in a good way. I think it’s hugely important to also try and break down the barriers that have existed in golf between the men’s and women’s games.”

Icon Sportswire
Pettersen will play along with Mel Reid in one of two women’s teams competing against the men’s pairings.

One thing that will not change is the “greensome foursomes” format. With the teams split into four groups of four—the top two in each progressing from the round-robin to knock-out stages—they will compete in a series of six-hole matches in which both players tee-off before choosing the better of the two drives and completing each hole with one ball, hitting alternately. The 40-second shot clock that claimed American Paul Petersen as its only “victim” last year will also return, as will putting mics on players for interview during matches.     

“The fact it is something different for golf is great—in terms of the round robin match play format then head to head matches, in addition to the men and women playing together of course,” Matthew said. “All tours are trying to think of ways to make golf different and encourage a new and younger audience and so I think this whole concept is very exciting.”

That sense of anticipation was echoed by Lucas Bjerregaard, who alongside Thorbjorn Olesen, claimed the title for Denmark in last year’s inaugural event.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many kids at a golf tournament in my life, which is great for the game,” Bjerregaard said. “In addition to that, they were having a great time, running around and not being told to be quiet all the time, which is exactly what we need to get more young people involved in our sport.”

Let the fun and games begin. Again.

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By Ryan Herrington
The progress has been steady, albeit a little slower than Lucas Bjerregaard had been hoping. The 26-year-old from Denmark had paired with countryman Thorbjorn Olesen to win the European Tour’s GolfSixes event in May, what Bjerregaard had hoped would be a spring board to a more steady presence on the European Tour. But in his next 11 events, he could only muster one top-15 finish and saw himself fighting to get inside the top 100 in the Race to Dubai standings to keep his tour card.

Yet a glimmer of hope surfaced earlier this month at the Omega European Masters, when he finished T-9. And Bjerregaard carried that momentum over to this week’s Portugal Masters, where he took a one-stroke lead into the final round at Dom Pedro Victoria G.C., then shot a closing 65 to win his first official European Tour title by a comfortable four strokes over Scotland’s Marc Warren.

“It feels good,” Bjerregaard said. “It’s been a rough year for me so to be in contention again feels really good.”

Bjerregaard never allowed doubt to enter into his mind, making birdies on four of his first eight holes and sitting five under for the round through 11 holes. It also prevented challengers—most notably Warren and three-time European Tour winner George Coetzee—from making a charge. Warren at one point cut Bjerregaard’s lead to two strokes with an eagle on the 17th hole but bogeyed the 18th to finish with a closing 67.

Goetzee had made three birdies on his round and was within three strokes before making a triple-bogey 7 on the last hole to fall to T-7.

With the win, Bjerregaard jumped from 114th on the Race to Dubai standings to 48th, comfortably getting him into the tour’s final playoff events later this fall. More importantly, the win secured his tour card through the 2018 season.

“Today is up there with one of my best rounds,” Bjerregaard said. “Not so much the six under around here, I’ve done that before, but under the pressure some of the shots I hit—the two shots I hit on 17 are some of the best I’ve hit in a long time.

“I felt pretty confident. My girlfriend asked me this morning if I was nervous and I said, ‘No, don’t worry I’ve got this’, probably more to calm her down than anything. I’ve been in this position a couple of times before so to finally come through and get my first win feels really good.”

Bjerregaard’s win was a popular one among his close friends. Olesen joined him on the 18th green to give him a champagne celebration. And another countryman, 2018 European Tour Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn, was quick to congratulate Bjerregaard via social media.

Some talent is always meant to come through.@LBjerregaard well done my friend!
You showed so much class in that performance today
????

— Thomas Bjørn (@thomasbjorngolf) September 24, 2017

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By John Huggan

When it comes to team golf, don’t mess with Denmark. That was the competitive message emanating from GolfSixes, the European Tour’s latest innovative attempt to liven up the week-to-week routine that is 72 holes of stroke-play competition. Seven months after teaming with compatriot Soren Kjeldsen to lift the World Cup of Golf at Kingston Heath in Melbourne, Thorbjorn Olesen combined with Lucas Bjerregaard to share the €200,000 first-place check at the Centurion Club outside London. The Danes knocked off the Australian side of Scott Hend and Sam Brazel by a score of 3-1 in the final (2 up in regular golf language).

Identifying winners and losers was never really the point, of course. This event—the brainchild of European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley—was all about engaging with new audiences, providing quicker and easier-to-follow entertainment and, for all concerned, fun.

In most of those aims, GolfSixes succeeded, even if, as with all experiments, not every aspect worked perfectly.

What did work:
The 32 (flag-waving) players marched into battle before each match accompanied by music and pyrotechnics, a fact that clearly went down well with the children massed beside the opening tee.

The 40-second shot clock provided a little tension and claimed a victim in American Paul Petersen. The left-hander was penalized one-shot when he took too long to reach impact on the opening day. Elsewhere though, the general pace of play was a pleasant contrast to the often snail-like procession that plays out each week on tours the world over.

Each player was mic’d and available for interview during matches, a fact that surely provided valuable insights to an audience presumably (and hopefully) stacked with those for whom the often-confusing and intimidating nuances of the game are unfamiliar.

No one embraced the inclusive aspect of the proceedings more than Englishman Andy Sullivan, whose “cheeky chappie” persona was perfectly suited to the atmosphere of fun and games. The Ryder Cup player’s epic chest-bump with the giant pink foam mascot by the first tee will surely go down as the lasting image of the two-day event.

Six things you might have missed at #GolfSixes today

? https://t.co/7OkJUC5gof pic.twitter.com/JoDc3BZl5T

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) May 6, 2017

The rules-laden Masters this was not.

What didn’t work:
At least where U.K. television viewers were concerned, the presence of non-golf commentators and announcers was more irritating than informative. The tired collection of long-retired sportsmen and D-list “celebrities” added nothing to the proceedings. Should the six-hole-match format prove attractive to prospective sponsors, the elimination of such nonsense will surely be a pre-condition.

Likewise, the unrelenting cheerleading that was a too-prominent aspect of the Sky Sports coverage needs to be, at least, toned down. Were the broadcasters there to report on the event? Or were they part of it? At times, that line was crossed.

The final verdict?
GolfSixes is something worth repeating. “It will definitely be back next year,” Pelley said. The crowds were decent, and the presence of so many youngsters was encouraging enough to silence any sneers from traditionalists, for whom this event was never going to be attractive. As former European Tour player Raymond Russell, a spectator along with his three children, said: “It went really well. And it wasn’t as funky as I thought it might be.”

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For the second consecutive week, a major pro golf tour is using a two-man team format. But unlike the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic, the European Tour’s GolfSixes event features a shot clock. And it didn’t take long for it to come into play.

In the second group of matches on Day 1 (each match is six holes), American Paul Peterson went over his allotted time to play a shot of 40 seconds. And one of his opponents, Bradley Dredge of Wales, noticed. Check it out:

Tick tock…

Paul Peterson's shot clock penalty. Keep your eye on Bradley Dredge ? pic.twitter.com/16BnJY7o6H

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) May 6, 2017

Just like the NBA, only the golfers get a little more than 24 seconds and there’s not a buzzer that goes off. Peterson was assessed a one-stroke penalty and Wales won that hole in a match that wound up being tied. Neither team wound up advancing to Sunday’s knockout stage.

So what do players think of the shot clock? Lee Westwood, for one, found it amusing:

??? https://t.co/13oaVnP2qm

— Lee Westwood (@WestwoodLee) May 6, 2017

We’re guessing Peterson wasn’t thrilled with getting hit with a penalty, but we appreciate the European Tour trying something to combat slow play. And how about the event’s fun first-tee introductions?

Not your normal first tee.#GolfSixes pic.twitter.com/5dSHpmXDH1

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) May 6, 2017

Chest-bumping with mascots? Shot clocks? Sign us up for more of this.

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From night events to first-tee entrance music, Keith Pelley has not been shy to shake things up as CEO of the European Tour. This innovative approach has bore its latest creation: a six-hole tournament.

On Sunday the European Tour unveiled “GolfSixes.” The event will feature two-man teams from 16 countries, vying for a $1.06 million prize. GolfSixes will debut on May 6 at the Centurion Club, just outside of London. “Greensomes” will be the playing format: both players in each team hit tee shots on each hole. The best tee shot is selected, then the team alternates play of all subsequent shots required to complete the hole. The teams will be split into four groups of four teams on Day 1, with the top two from each group progressing to the knockout stages. The quarterfinals, semifinals and final will take place on Day 2.

“We have said for some time that golf needs to modernize and introducing innovative new formats is a major part of achieving that aim, which is why I am delighted to announce the launch of GolfSixes today,” Pelley said in a statement. “We want to broaden the appeal of our sport to the millennial demographic and I think this format will do that, not only through the quick and exiting style of play, but also with the interactive digital experience fans will enjoy on site and the innovative television coverage people will enjoy at home.”

Besides reduction in playing time, Pelley is hoping to create a Ryder Cup environment. GolfSixes will have amphitheater-style seating around tees and greens, music and pyrotechnics on the first tee and at various points around the course, and have players miked up.

“We are also delighted to have brought a country versus country element to the fore,” Pelley said. “We are in the entertainment content business with golf as our platform and GolfSixes is the perfect illustration of that.”

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