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Lucas Bjerregaard and Thorbjorn Olesen defend at the Centurion Club

Lucas Bjerregaard and Thorbjorn Olesen are defending champions
Lucas Bjerregaard and Thorbjorn Olesen are defending champions
(Image credit: Getty Images)

There’s a different flavour on this week’s European Tour as the second GolfSixes tournament takes place at the Centurion Club in St Albans. Team Denmark represented by Lucas Bjerregaard and Thorbjorn Olesen are defending champions.

GolfSixes Leaderboard, Preview, TV Times

The second GolfSixes tournament will be contested at the Centurion Club this weekend. 16 teams from the European and Ladies European Tours will do battle for a prize fund of €1 million in this innovative event.

Male and female two-player teams, largely representing countries (with two “European” teams also featuring,) will battle it out at the Centurion Club north of London over two days this Saturday and Sunday to be crowned GolfSixes champions.

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’s men will be represented by two winners on the European Tour in 2018 – Eddie Pepperell and Matt Wallace. Pepperell claimed his maiden Tour title in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, while Wallace triumphed in the Hero Indian Open.

“Playing in front of a home crowd is an exciting prospect and something I’ve always looked forward to,” said Wallace. “Last year it looked as if there were a lot of kids enjoying the whole experience, so it should be a lot of fun to play in front of so many young fans and hopefully get them excited about golf.”

Charley Hull, Lucas Bjerregaard and Georgia Hall

Charley Hull, Lucas Bjerregaard and Georgia Hall

England’s women will be represented by Georgia Hall and Charley Hull and they will feature in the same group – Group D – as Pepperell and Wallace.

Scotland will be represented by Richie Ramsay and Scott Jamieson and there will be two European teams – one featuring Carlotta Ciganda and Mel Reid, the other the Ryder and Solheim Cup captains Thomas Bjorn and Catriona Matthew.

Thomas Bjorn partners Catriona Matthew

Thomas Bjorn partners Catriona Matthew

The tournament will have a distinctly different feel to regular European Tour events with players walking on to the tee accompanied by music. A shot clock will be in operation with players having just 30 seconds for each shot. There will also be a long-drive hole and a nearest the pin competition.

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 good with warmer temperatures arriving for the weekend.

Venue: Centurion Club, St Albans, England Date: May 5-6 Course stats: par 24, 2,335 yards Purse: €1,000,000 Defending Champion: Denmark (Lucas Bjerregaard and Thorbjorn Olesen)

How to watch GolfSixes

TV Coverage: Saturday 5 – Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Mix from 12.00pm Sunday 6 – Sky Sports Mix from 12.00pm and Sky Sports Golf from 12.30pm

Not a Sky Sports customer and want to watch GolfSixes?

Why not buy a Now TV pass? For £7.99 you can get a day pass if you wish to watch one of the days or, for just £12.99, you can get a week pass.

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Field:

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 – Alexander Levy 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

Key hole: 3rd – A 525 yard par-5 that will offer up birdie and eagle chances.

Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?