The European Tour and England Golf will work together to take the GolfSixes format to members at over 1900 clubs- The partnership was announced as the second edition of the innovative short form of golf teed off at Centurion Club in St Albans
- This is the first GolfSixes initiative for adult amateurs, with juniors across Europe already enjoying the GolfSixes League format
England Golf and the European Tour have agreed to work in partnership to grow the game – and will start by engaging members at 1900+ clubs through GolfSixes, the innovative short form of the game.
The partnership was announced today at Centurion Club in Hertfordshire, where the second edition of GolfSixes, the European Tour’s fast and fun six-hole tournament is being played out by 16 teams of male and female professionals. At stake this weekend is a €1m prize fund with the eventual winners receiving €100,000 each.
Now English club amateurs can get involved in the six-hole action – and play their way to the ultimate prize of an involvement in the European Tour’s GolfSixes tournament in 2019.
Details of a national GolfSixes competition for club members will be announced in the coming weeks. The short format game will also be showcased with an invitational event at England Golf Week at Frilford Heath Golf Club, Oxfordshire, in August.
Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour, said: “When we first began developing the concept of GolfSixes, we knew it had the potential to be a format that could inspire male and female players of all ages and abilities to either take up the game or play more often, and we’re delighted that England Golf share that vision.
“Through partners like the Golf Foundation, the GolfSixes League format has already been adopted across the UK and Europe and has proved immensely popular with young players across Europe with programmes up and running in Denmark, Belgium, France and the Netherlands. Rolling it out to adult amateur players is the next logical step and we’re very excited to be working with England Golf to attract more people to our wonderful game.”
England Golf Chief Executive Nick Pink commented: “We are very excited to be working so closely with the European Tour and forging even stronger links between the professional and amateur game.
“We love the way the European Tour is developing GolfSixes, creating an international competition which brings men and women together at the top end of the game.
“It’s a bright, modern, alternative format which will absolutely work at club level and will appeal to new audiences. In particular, we think it will be enjoyed by people who are short of time, or who are new to golf and to competition and by those who are getting back into the game after a break.
“Above all, GolfSixes is fun and it’s showing that golf is changing to suit the needs of different people and their lifestyles.”
GolfSixes has already captured the imagination of youngsters across the country who were involved in a pilot project run last year by the Golf Foundation and supported by England Golf with Sport England funding.
The charity pioneered the GolfSixes League, which will grow this year to involve youngsters from 125 clubs across the UK. More than 1500 boys and girls are expected to be coached by club PGA professionals each week in their 12-player squads before displaying their new-found skills at weekends.
The GolfSixes League format will also run in Belgium, Denmark, France and the Netherlands.
“We’ve been delighted to support the Golf Foundation and to see their success with GolfSixes. Now is the time to share the format more widely with our club members,” said Nick Pink.
–ENDS–
ST ALBANS, ENGLAND – MAY 05: (L-R) Matt Wallace of England, Nick Pink, CEO of Golf England, Keith Pelley, Cheif Execuitve of PGA European Tour and Eddie Pepperell of England pose for a photo prior to Day One of the GolfSixes at The Centurion Club on May 5, 2018 in St Albans, England. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
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The European Tour celebrates men’s professional golf on a global stage. In 2018, the European Tour International Schedule will feature a minimum of 47 tournaments in 30 countries, including eight Rolex Series events, all part of the Race to Dubai.
Celebrating the global connectivity of the European Tour and Dubai, the Race to Dubai is a season-long competition to crown the European Tour’s Number One player, an honour which in 2017 went to England’s Tommy Fleetwood for the first time, and which, since 2009, has also been achieved three times by Rory McIlroy, twice by Henrik Stenson, and once each by Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Luke Donald.
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The European Tour also manages the Challenge Tour, which featured 27 tournaments in 21 countries in 2017, and the Senior Tour, which featured 16 tournaments in 12 countries in 2017 and which, from the 2018 season onwards, will be known as the Staysure Tour. It is also the Managing Partner of Ryder Cup Europe, the body which, alongside the PGA of America, administers golf’s greatest team contest, The Ryder Cup. In 2018, the 42nd staging of the biennial contest between Europe and the United States of America will take place at Le Golf National, France, from September 28-30.
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