European Tour breaks new ground with GolfSixes

There’s a different flavour on this week’s European Tour as the first GolfSixes tournament takes place at the Centurion Club in St Albans.

Two-man teams from 16 countries will battle it out at the Centurion Club north of London over two days this Saturday and Sunday to be crowned the inaugural GolfSixes champions on the European Tour.

The matchplay competition will be played to the Greensomes format with both team members driving off at each hole, choosing their best tee shot and then playing alternate shots from there.

On day one, the 16 teams will play in four groups of four, playing each other over a set of six holes. The top two teams from each group at the end of the day will progress to the knockout stages on Sunday.

The final day will see quarter finals, the semi finals and final, plus a 3rd/4th place playoff. As per the name of the event, each of these sprint matches will be played over six holes.

England will start as the Number 1 seeded pair and the home nation will be represented by Chris Wood and Andy Sullivan.

Andy Sullivan swing sequence:

Other strong pairings include Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee and Kiradech Aphibarnrat and the French duo of Alex Levy and Gregory Bourdy. The tournament will have a distinctly different feel to regular European Tour events with players walking on to the tee accompanied by music and pyrotechnics. A shot clock will be in operation with players having just 40 seconds for each shot.

Deisgned by Simon Gidman and opened for play in 2013, the Centurion Club has quickly earned a reputation as one of the best new courses in the country. It’s been designed to have a links feel with indigenous grasses and sculpted bunkering.

The weather forecast looks like being fine with no rain and warm temperatures.

Venue: Centurion GC, St Albans, England Date: May 6-7 Course stats: par 24, 2,276 yards Purse: €1,000,000 Defending Champion: Inaugural Tournament

TV Coverage: Saturday 6 – Sky Sports 4 from 12.30pm Sunday 7 – Sky Sports 4 from 12pm

Field:

ENGLAND: Chris Wood, Andy Sullivan THAILAND: Thongchai Jaidee, Kiradech Aphibarnrat AUSTRALIA: Sam Brazel, Scott Hend SOUTH AFRICA: Darren Fichardt, Brandon Stone DENMARK: Thorbjørn Olesen, Lucas Bjerregaard FRANCE: Alexander Levy, Grégory Bourdy SPAIN: Pablo Larrazábal, Alejandro Cañizares WALES: Bradley Dredge, Jamie Donaldson USA: Paul Peterson, David Lipsky NETHERLANDS; Joost Luiten, Reinier Saxton BELGIUM: Nicolas Colsaerts, Thomas Detry SWEDEN: Johan Carlsson,Joakim Lagergren INDIA: S.S.P Chawrasia, Chikkarangappa S PORTUGAL: Ricardo Gouveia, José-Filipe Lima ITALY: Matteo Manassero, Renato Paratore SCOTLAND: Richie Ramsay, Marc Warren

Key hole: 3rd – A 525 yard par-5 that will offer up birdie and eagle chances. The drama on this one will be intensified as it will also feature a long drive competition with a leaderboard showing the best efforts.