Ryder Cup stars Chris Wood and Andy Sullivan will be hoping that home advantage pays off when they team up to represent England in the new GolfSixes event, which is being held at Centurion Club in Hertfordshire on May 6-7.
The English duo will face stiff opposition from all over the world in the shape of two-man teams representing Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, India, Italy, Portugal, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, The Netherlands, USA and Wales.
Wood is looking forward to seeing home fans gather at the Centurion Club for the inaugural staging or the event, which showcases a shorter format of the game. He said: “Sully and I are good mates, and I think we make a good team. We’ve both had amazing experiences in the past representing Europe at the Ryder Cup, and England at the World Cup of Golf. With the countries that are taking part, there could be some pretty intriguing rivalries thrown up, and I’m sure we’ll see plenty of passion from the players and the fans. It’s a fresh new format, and I think that’s very welcome in golf right now. It should be an entertaining weekend, and I’m interested to see how it all works with the innovations inside and outside the ropes.”
There could be an added edge for home fans, as reigning BMW PGA champion Wood and three-time European Tour winner Sullivan may find themselves in a home nations head to head against their rivals from Scotland and Wales. After claiming the winning point for Europe at the 2014 Ryder Cup, Jamie Donaldson will be aiming to put on a similar display for Wales when he teams up with Bradley Dredge. While, with three European Tour wins apiece, Richie Ramsay and Marc Warren will be determined to call on all of their experience to raise the Saltire above the Centurion Club on May 7.
Denmark’s Thorbjørn Olesen already has national pedigree, after claiming the World Cup of Golf for his country in 2016. This time, he will team up with 26-year-old Lucas Bjerregaard in search of victory for Denmark at the fast-paced new event. Olesen said: “There aren’t too many opportunities to play team golf, and it definitely adds an extra edge when you are representing your country. I had a lot of fun playing for Denmark at the World Cup of Golf last year. It was a proud moment to lift the trophy, and I would love to make it two in a row for Denmark.”
Nicolas Colsaerts, Ricardo Gouveia, Thongchai Jaidee, Alexander Levy, Joost Luiten, Matteo Manassero and Brandon Stone are among the European Tour stars who will take part in the event that will feature amphitheatre-style stands around the tees and greens, music and pyrotechnics, an activity-packed fanzone and player engagement, bringing fans closer to the action.
The tournament starts on May 6, with teams split into four groups of four, before the top two teams from each group progress to the knockout stages – all of which will be contested on May 7.
In the group stages, three points will be given for victory with one point given for a draw while the matches themselves will be played in a greensomes match play format. Both days’ play will be shown live on Sky Sports.
Tickets to see the action can be purchased at www.golfsixes.com/tickets. Adult tickets cost £6, while children’s tickets (10-17) are available for £3, and there is free entry for under 10s.
Full list of countries and players (in order of ranking)
1) ENGLAND: Chris Wood, Andy Sullivan
2) ITALY: Matteo Manassero, Renato Paratore
3) THAILAND: Thongchai Jaidee, Kiradech Aphibarnrat
4) INDIA: S.S.P Chawrasia, Chikkarangappa S
5) AUSTRALIA: Sam Brazel, Scott Hend
6) DENMARK: Thorbjørn Olesen, Lucas Bjerregaard
7) FRANCE: Alexander Levy, Grégory Bourdy
8) NETHERLANDS; Joost Luiten, Reinier Saxton
9) SWEDEN: Kristoffer Broberg, Joakim Lagergren
10) SPAIN: Pablo Larrazábal, Alejandro Cañizares
11) SCOTLAND: Richie Ramsay, Marc Warren
12) SOUTH AFRICA: Darren Fichardt, Brandon Stone
13) USA: Paul Peterson, David Lipsky
14) WALES: Bradley Dredge, Jamie Donaldson
15) BELGIUM: Nicolas Colsaerts, Thomas Detry
16) PORTUGAL: Ricardo Gouveia, José-Filipe Lima