Denmark are the first ever GolfSixes champions after sealing a 3-1 victory over Australia in the final at the Centurion Club in Hertfordshire.
The European Tour broke new ground in St Albans, with 16 teams of two starting the weekend and battling it out first in a group stage and then a knockout over six holes in greensomes.
By Sunday evening only two teams remained, and it was Thorbjørn Olesen and Lucas Bjerregaard who took home the trophy after a hard fought win over Scott Hend and Sam Brazel.
Entrance music, pyrotechnics and a sprinkling of celebrity gave the event a whole new feel, but it was world class golf that proved to be the highlight, with Olesen claiming his second team win for Denmark in six months after his victory at the World Cup of Golf alongside Søren Kjeldsen.
Denmark had finished second in Group A on Saturday, and 2-1 victories over France and Italy got them to the final against Australia, who finished second in Group C, before overcoming Thailand and Scotland on Sunday.
A birdie on the third gave Australia a 1-0 lead in the final, but Denmark then won the final three holes to take the title.
Hend and Bjerregaard hit huge drives down the third, but Olesen went long with the Danes’ second, while Hend was left with 18 feet for an eagle. Hend got down in two, and with Denmark failing to get up and down, Australia led 1-0. The scores were soon level again, though, as both Hend and Brazel put their tee shots in the water on the fourth to record a bogey, with Denmark winning the hole in par.
A swift turnaround in fortunes was completed on the fifth, as Bjerregaard put his tee shot to four feet and Olesen finished the job to send Denmark up the last with a 2-1 lead. Olesen was inches from putting Denmark’s second shot in the water on the sixth, but an excellent recovery from Bjerregaard meant the Danes had two putts for the win and Australia offered handshakes on the final green.
There was drama in the third/fourth place play-off as Scotland won a nearest the-pin contest at the second attempt on the play-off hole to beat Italy 2-1.
“It feels really good to have won,” said Bjerregaard. “With so much at stake it was a little more businesslike today compared to yesterday, when there was a little bit more banter and it was all good fun. But I think it definitely got the crowds’ attention. I was really happy to see how many kids came out, and hopefully that will get some of them into golf and think it’s fun.”
Olesen added: “Six holes is very intense match play – every shot really counts. If you get behind early on, it’s really tough. We managed to get it around a couple of times when we were down, but like Lucas said, it’s been so much fun. We definitely both very much enjoyed it. We were quite consistent out there, and I don’t think we had a bogey for these two days. We made it tough for our opponents all the time, and they made a few mistakes in this final, which was very nice for us.”
Losing finalist Sam Brazel said: “It’s been a great weekend for the players, and It’s beengreat to see so many kids kicking around. It was awesome to be part of it. Centurion put a great event on. To the members, the guests, the fans, it’s been fantastic.”
England’s hope of bagging a win for the home nation suffered a fatal blow when Chris Wood and Andy Sullivan were knocked out by Italy in the quarter final stages, losing 2-1 to Matteo Manassero and Renato Paratore, who then lost to the Danes in the semis, while Australia knocked out the Scottish pairing of Marc Warren and Ritchie Ramsey with a 2-1 win in the other semi.
