It’s all about innovation on the European Tour this week as GolfSixes returns to Centurion Club in St Albans, near London.
What you need to know:
The wildcards: 16 two-player teams will once again tee it up over the specially created six-hole circuit at Centurion Club – but this time there will be some new faces.
The introduction of wildcard teams means that some of Europe’s best female players will be part of a field that also includes 23 European Tour winners. Georgia Hall and Charley Hull will team up as the England Women’s Team, while England’s Mel Reid and Spain’s Carlota Ciganda will form a European Women’s Team.
Ryder Cup Captain Thomas Bjørn and his Solheim Cup counterpart Catriona Matthew will become the first male and female professionals to play together in a competitive matchplay format on the European Tour when they form the Captains Team.
The format: The 16 teams will compete over six holes in a group stage on Saturday, with teams split into four groups of four, before the top two teams from each group progress to the knockout stages – the quarter-finals, the semi-finals, a third/fourth place playoff match and the final – on Sunday.
In the group stage, three points will be given for victory with one point awarded for a draw and zero for a loss, and the matches will be played in a greensomes matchplay format. On Sunday, any tied matches go to a specially constructed playoff hole. If the match is still tied, it will be settled by a closest-to-the-pin challenge on the same hole.
Themed holes: GolfSixes will once again feature a different theme on each hole, which means the return of the popular shot clock on the 4th hole. The innovation was a hit with players and fans last year, and to make things even faster, the time limit has been reduced from 40 seconds to 30 seconds per shot.
Group A
Denmark – Lucas Bjerregaard and Thorbjørn Olesen
Thailand – Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Thongchai Jaidee
USA – Daniel Im and David Lipsky
European Women – Carlota Ciganda and Mel Reid
Group B
Australia – Sam Brazel and Wade Ormsby
South Korea – Jeunghun Wang and Soomin Lee
Spain – Pablo Larrazábal and Adrian Otaegui
European Captains – Thomas Bjørn and Catriona Matthew
Group C
France – Mike Lorenzo-Vera and Romain Wattel
Italy – Edoardo Molinari and Renato Paratore
Scotland – Scott Jamieson and Richie Ramsay
Ireland – Paul Dunne and Gavin Moynihan
Group D
England – Eddie Pepperell and Matt Wallace
South Africa – George Coetzee and Haydn Porteous
Sweden – Alexander Björk and Joakim Lagergren
England Women – Georgia Hall and Charley Hull
SATURDAY – GROUP MATCHES
SESSION 1
13:16 – South Africa v Sweden
SESSION 2
14:47 – South Africa v England Women
SESSION 3
17:41 – England v South Africa
SUNDAY – KNOCKOUT FORMAT
13:40 – QF1 Winner A v Runner Up B
13:55 – QF2 Winner C v Runner Up D
14:10 – QF3 Winner B v Runner Up A
14:25 – QF4 Winner D v Runner Up C
15:35 – SF1 Winner QF1 v Winner QF2
15:50 – SF2 Winner QF3 v Winner QF4
17:20 – 3rd/4th Play-off Runner-up SF1 v Runner-up SF2
17:35 – FINAL Winner SF1 v Winner SF2
Credit: European Tour
