Australia launches new format golf tournament
The popularity of Twenty20 cricket has shown other sports that the TV audience no longer wants long, drawn-out contests but fast and exciting competition. Australia has heard the call and proposed this radical concept for tournament golf.
The Surf Coast Knockout will be played at The Sands Torquay from January 20-23, 2011 as part of the PGA Tour of Australasia. The tournament will feature three rounds of stroke play competition and a reduced 32-man field playing six-hole knockout matchplay to decide the winner.
Stuart Appleby, Peter Lonard and Craig Parry have already committed to the event with TV networks Ten and OneHD signing on to televise the event in prime-time. The course itself will be restructured for the final day matchplay for the best TV viewing and crowd involvement.
This is pretty revolutionary stuff when you compare it to the evolution of tournament golf over the past 50 years. The PGA of Australia are being bold and extremely ambitious.
What do you think?
Should they leave tournament golf as it is or was a shake-up long overdue?
What more can be done to spice up tournament golf?
The format:
- The field size for the Surf Coast Knockout will be 132 (min) which will include a maximum of 20 amateurs
- The event is a full PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit event
- Rounds 1-3 will be strokeplay
- The fourth and final round will be contested under match play conditions
- Two cuts will be made during the tournament (a first for the PGA Tour of Australasia)
- The first cut will be made after 36 holes (to 50 + ties)
- The second will be made after 54 holes (to 32)
- The fourth round (match play) will be 16 matches played over 6 holes
- A proportion of prize money will be paid to the top 5 following 54 holes
- The remainder of the prize money will be paid following Sunday’s final results
I think it’s a great idea to try something new. Not sure what the best format will be, but in time a new format might be able to complement regular tournament golf. The traditionalists will hate it but I reckon golf needs a boost.
I agree Cameron. There will be some firm opposition and I think this tournament will go some way to determining exactly what the best format will be.
T20, has change lots of thing in sports world. This faster version is proving to be a promising format. IPL 2010 got an outstanding response. Seeing this other different kind of sports are also trying to change the format.
So, let’s wait and watch what is going to come with such changes…
Seeing women in their bathing suits on the golf course, I can’t help but think about Happy Gilmore. I could see an increase in viewers, just to witness something different. I am interested to see what will come of this in the future. I don’t know if my father and grandfather will enjoy, but I feel a change could be a good boost for golf