Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort – host of the Made in Denmark Tournament – hopes to stage the 2020 event later in the year after it was called off because of the coronavirus outbreak

THE European Tour has cancelled two more events in the spring – but has raised the prospect of resuming its schedule in time for the Irish Open, at the end of May.

Both the Made in Denmark and the unique GolfSixes Casçais event in Portugal, have joined the growing list of events cancelled or postponed by the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley said: “Discussions regarding the possible rescheduling of all postponed tournaments are ongoing and we remain hopeful of European Tour action resuming in Ireland at the end of May.

“We will continue to monitor this global situation in relation to coronavirus and evaluate its impact on all our tournaments, with public health and well-being our absolute priority. ”

The Irish Open is set to be played at Mount Juliet Estate over the Whitsun May Bank Holilda.

Defending champion Jon Rahm will be looking for a third victory in the Emerald Isle.

A strong field including Fedex Champion Rory McIlroy and Open Champion Shane Lowry. committed to play in Kilkenny, where 2010 US Open champion Graeme McDowell will be the tournament host in the new slot allowing McIlroy to fit it into his playing schedule.

Mount Juliet Estate already boasts a prestigious list of winners after a three-year stint of hosting the event – with Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer and Sam Torrance winning there in 1993, 1994 and 1995 respectively.

And McIlroy was hoping to join that list when he announced his return to play the Irish Open after skipping it last year after a four-year spell as the host.

The luxury five-star resort in Kilkenny also hosted the WGC-American Express Championship in 2002 and 2004 – won by Tiger Woods and Ernie Els respectively.

GolfSixes Casçais was scheduled to take place at Oitavos Dunes, near Lisbon, from May 9-10, while Made in Denmark – presented by Freja – was due to return to Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort, from May 21-24.

The event was due to be played from May 21-24 at Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort

Made in Denmark promoter Flemming Astrup said: “We are very concerned about the current development of coronavirus and we believe the best decision is to postpone the event.

“We will now work closely with the European Tour to find a new date for Made in Denmark.

“It is still too early to say when, but both we and Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort are looking forward to present a fantastic course and tournament for players and fans – when we are on the better side of this unfortunate situation.”

The Made in Denmark has proved popular with interactive initiatives – including building a walkway between the 13th green and 14th tee throught a fans’ beer tent, playing loud music – giving the players a unique interaction on the European Tour.

The 2019 GolfSixes winners Thongchai Jaidee (left) and Phachara Khongwatmai, from Thailand at Oitavos Dunes, in Cascais in Portugal. Picture courtesy of EUROPEAN TOUR

GolfSixes format proved popular

AFTER the first two GolfSixes were held at the Centurion Club, at St Albans, the European Tour switched its place in the schedule to Casçais in 2019, where Thailand emerged as the winners.

GolfSixes is the short form of the game, increasingly popular with youngsters and the format sees 16 teams made up of pairs contesting over just holes with the team winning the most holes progressing via a four team round-robin league to the semi-finals and final.

Thongchai Jaidee and Phachara Khongwatmai beat England’s Tom Lewis and Paul Waring in the final.

Austrian Bernd Weisberger was due to defend his Made in Denmark crown at Himmerland in two months’ time.

The cancellation of the two events brings the total of events either cancelled or postponed on the Euorpean Tour schedule up to 10, starting with the Magical Kenya Open in March, through to the Made in Denmark.

That sequence includes the first two Majors of the season – the Masters has been postponed for the first time since 1945 – with the USPGA Championship along with Augusta National bosses looking for possible dates later in the year.

•On Wednesday, the European Challenge Tour anncouned the Challenge de España, which had been scheduled to take place from May 14-17, had been provisionally rescheduled for July 2-5.

The decision was made in consultation with the tournament promoter and the Spanish Golf Federation, in light of travel restrictions due to the threat from coronavirus COVID-19.

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Horne Park’s George Groves who claimed the first EDGA Dubai title played at the DP World Tour Championship, in November. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

EUROPEAN Disabled Golfers Association members George Groves and Brendan Lawlor are all set for their European Tour debut in May.

They will join forces in a European Tour first when they tee it up at the innovative GolfSixes Cascais, which returns to Oitavos Dunes Golf Club, from May 9-10.

Groves, who is a member at Surrey’s Horne Park Golf Club, and Lawlor, from Ireland, will be paired together in the competitive matchplay format.

They will form the inaugural EDGA Team, as one of four wildcard selections making up the field.

George Groves who will represent the EDGA at GolfSixes Cascais, at Oitavos Dunes. Picture by EUROPEAN DISABLED GOLFERS ASSOCIATION

“To be able to tee it up and play against the Tour professionals is exactly what inclusivity is all about.”

GEORGE GROVES – Word No. 1 disabled golfer

The announcement continues the European Tour’s commitment to inclusivity and innovation with its ground-breaking approach to Golfers with Disability,

It also marks the first time golfers from the World Rankings for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD) will compete alongside European Tour professionals in a regular season event.

The 2020 GolfSixes Cascais will follow the same format as the 2019 edition, with four wildcard teams – featuring stars from male and female golf – joining 12 other two-man teams of European Tour players representing their home nations.

Groves, the current No. 1 on the World Rankings for Golfers with Disability, won the inaugural EDGA Dubai finale in November last year.

The 36-hole event took place alongside the European Tour’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.

That was the second EDGA event which took place in conjunction with a Rolex Series event on the 2019 Race to Dubai.

Groves, a graduate of Dennis Pugh’s Golf College in Sussex, finished second to Lawlor at the EDGA Scottish Open – held during the weekend of the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, in July.

And now the pair will partner together in Portugal as they prepare to take on 15 other teams competing over six holes in the greensomes format.

“I’m looking forward to competing in the European Tour’s GolfSixes in Cascais,” said Groves, who suffers from Erbs Palsy, which leaves him with around 20 per cent of normal movement.

“To be able to tee it up and play against the Tour professionals is exactly what inclusivity is all about.

“I’m excited to represent all players with a disability alongside Brendan and we hope to do them proud,” added the winner of the inaugural English Disability Open, last year.

Lawlor, currently ranked No. 4 in the world, added: “Last year I watched the GolfSixes tournament and now I have the opportunity to represent all golfers with a disability in Cascais, which is absolutely amazing.

“It will be great to stand on the tee with George and compete alongside the Tour professionals, men and women, knowing that we are showcasing how inclusive our game is for everyone.”

Brendan, who attended the Darren Clarke Golf Academy in Northern Irelnad, suffers from Ellis–van Creveld syndrome, characterised by a shorter stature and shorter limbs.

Ground-breaking GolfSixes format

GOLFSIXES has revolutionised the game with the ability to offer wildcard selections to a variety of golfers from all walks of the game.

Previously the event included a ‘Captains Team’ which featured 2018 European Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjørn and 2019 Solheim Cup captain Catriona Matthew, who were the first male and female professionals to play together in a competitive matchplay format.

“We are thrilled to have George and Brendan competing against European Tour professionals for the first time and to ultimately showcase their talents on the world stage.

European Tour chief executive KEITH PELLEY

It has also hosted a ‘European Women’s Team’ featuring the Ladies European Tour winner Mel Reid and Spain’s Carlota Ciganda as well as a ‘German Women’s Team’ featuring Esther Henseleit and Laura Fuenfstueck.

Former Women’s British Open Georgia Hall, from Dorset, and Woburn’s Charley Hull in 2018, have played twice in GolfSixes, while Wellingboro’s Meghan MacLaren and Lancashire’s Florentyna Parker made up a second England team in 2019.

European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley said: “GolfSixes is the perfect opportunity for us to champion new ideas and innovate – not just in terms of a different format, but to bring a different form of entertainment from a golf perspective.

“We are thrilled to have George and Brendan competing against European Tour professionals for the first time and to ultimately showcase their talents on the world stage.

“As golf’s global Tour, two of our core values are innovation and inclusivity, and GolfSixes fits perfectly into both of those genres.

“The EDGA Scottish Open and the EDGA Dubai Finale were an immense success for all involved.

“It is fantastic we can reward our inaugural winners in George and Brendan with the opportunity to compete at GolfSixes in Portugal.

“It’s a natural progression and I think the potential for GolfSixes in terms of the overall brand and format is terrific.”

Lawlor turned professional last year, however with Groves remaining an amateur he is unable to claim winnings from the tournament.

The European Tour and the players have agreed to donate the team’s prize money from the event to the EDGA.

Tour chiefs have sought and received approval from The R&A to do so under the Rules of Amateur Status, to help encourage more people with disability to try golf.

European Disabled Golfers Association president Tony Bennett said: “We are thrilled to have George and Brendan representing the inaugural EDGA Team at GolfSixes Cascais this May.

“It is a natural fit for this event to highlight golfers with a disability considering how inclusive and innovative the previous tournaments have been, and we are excited about the possibilities ahead.

“It is an incredible opportunity for our EDGA golfers to compete alongside European Tour professionals for the first time, and we can’t wait to see the rest of the field take shape in the coming weeks.”

•You can learn more about the work of the European Disabled Golfers Association and how to get involved by clicking here.

The 2019 GolfSixes winners Thongchai Jaidee (left) and Phachara Khongwatmai, from Thailand at Oitavos Dunes, in Cascais in Portugal. Picture courtesy of EUROPEAN TOUR

Thailand took title in sudden-death

THAILAND defeated England in a nearest the pin play-off to win the 2019 GolfSixes Cascais and make European Tour history at Oitavos Dunes.

Phachara Khongwatmai and Thongchai Jaidee were tied at 1-1 after six holes in the final against Tom Lewis and Paul Waring, with another trip up the sixth unable to separate the teams.

That meant the event would go down to nearest the pin in the final for the first time in its three-year history, and it was Khongwatmai – 29 years his team-mate’s junior at just 20 years old – who hit his tee shot to concession range out to claim the win.

The tournament returns to Portugal for the second year next door to the Atlantic and only 20 minutes from the capital, Cascais – a village with approximately 210,000 inhabitants.

The city is proud to host GolfSixes, a partnership of the Municipality of Cascais, the European Tour and the Event/Media agency U.COM – which stages the annual Millennium Estoril Open, an ATP Tennis Championship, in the same region.

Oitavos Dunes has hosted the Open de Portugal on four occasions, first in 2005 when Paul Broadhurst emerged victorious, and then in three years in succession in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Those events were won by Pablo Martin Benavides, Grégory Bourdy and Michael Hoey respectively.

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Chief executive Keith Pelley says the European Tour has been leading the fight on slow play in the game of golf over the past four years – and intends to toughen its stance for 2020. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

EUROPEAN Tour chief executive Keith Pelley writes about the controversy over slow play on the European Tour and explains why the Tournament Committee and the board have decided to take firm action for the 2020 season.

MANY issues have affected the game of golf since I became chief executive of the European Tour – but none have been as recurrent as the topic of slow play.

It is the discussion that dominates dinner tables at tournaments and it is one of the main sources of frustration at all levels of the game. Rightly so, I might add.

While the intensity of these conversations occasionally diminishes, it is never long before it reignites, and I watched with interest the recent social media debate which flared up in the United States.

For us, the issue came to a head earlier this year when one of our senior players, Edoardo Molinari, posted on Twitter a list of players, who had received bad times and fines up to that point during the 2019 season – in a bid to “speed things up.”

I spoke to Edoardo shortly afterwards, and while I didn’t necessarily agree with his chosen method, he was entirely right to confront the problem and it prompted a discussion at the next tournament committee meeting, held at the Betfred British Masters, in May.

Thankfully, our Tournament Committee shared Edoardo’s belief that enough was enough, and they were prepared to make some hard decisions, accepting the need to be more punitive.

“We have the most aggressive monitoring policy in our sport, and we have issued shot penalties, but the past four months showed us finally that the time had arrived when players were willing to take a tough stance and we applauded that.”

European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley – on the problems of slow play

At that meeting we also determined there is a key fundamental difference between slow play and slow players – this is a key point to remember.

While we would all like to reduce overall round times, it was recognised that this can be impacted by several factors such as weather conditions and course set up, while for full field events, the sheer number of players on the course at the same time will always limit the pace of play.

Slow players, on the other hand, have become increasingly prevalent and problematic in our game in recent years – to the extent that we risk fans, both core and casual, switching off if we don’t do something about it.

The European Tour has been at the forefront of the assault on slow play for the last four years.

We have the most aggressive monitoring policy in our sport, and we have issued shot penalties.

But the past four months showed us finally that the time had arrived when players were willing to take a tough stance and we applauded that.

Slow play became a critical issue because our players wanted it to be. That moment was the door opening and the mandate we were given at May’s tournament committee meeting empowered our operations and rules team to present stronger, more robust recommendations.

We took a formal proposal back to the next Tournament Committee meeting at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open last month.

And following some fine tuning over the past six weeks, we yesterday publicly announced a four-point plan focusing on regulation, education, innovation and field-size reduction where appropriate.

This concrete strategy is more targeted towards slow players and more penal, including an immediate one-shot penalty for two bad times in a round and increased fines for players consistently ‘on the clock’.

I’m confident it will have a meaningful impact on combating slow play AND slow players, which is a more complex task that you might think.

Although superficially solving the pace of play conundrum would seem like an easy fix, golf’s biggest challenge remains the size of our arena, as an 18-hole golf course is equivalent to almost 90 football fields, with 156 players dotted around it.

Timing every player, on every shot, every week is a monumental, and costly, challenge.

We must also consider the complexities of policing more robust timing rules.

European Tour chief referee John Paramor and senior referee Andy McFee (right) discussed the problems of timing players with Keith Pelley

I recall our senior referee, Andy McFee, saying to me that timing is an art not a science.

He rightly posed the questions: “When do you start the clock? Is it when a player gets to the ball? When do you start timing the first player in a group?

“And how do you let them know you’ve started timing as they can’t tell unless there’s a visual clock on every single hole?”

These are all interesting points, however, I stress we are not using the challenges of the sport as an excuse not to tackle what is now golf’s biggest issue.

Another thing we have learned from studying this whole issue, is that playing slowly is habitual.

Most players aren’t taught to play the game slowly, it’s a practice they acquire, and one we have to try to reverse.

Our Shot Clock hole during the recent innovative GolfSixes Cascais in Portugal showed that players were ready and already thinking about their shots before they got to the ball.

They didn’t have the chance to second guess themselves, or overload themselves with information, and their performance benefitted as a result.

Our players have shone a spotlight on this topic and this is now the lightbulb moment for our sport.

But it is incumbent on all of us involved in golf to act.

The main Tours and four Major Championships have begun dialogue, but as the most powerful entities in global golf, we have to be united and consistent in fighting this battle if it is one we are to win. 

I do believe that with technology advancements down the road, there will come a time in the very near future when we will be able to time every player, on every shot, on every hole.

Until we are all ready from a technology perspective, our four-point plan has decisive, concrete action on how we can combat this issue right now.

•Read more about the European Tour’s four-point plan on combatting slow play here.

In 2019, there have been outbursts by Brooks Koepka who singled out J B Holmes for taking too long to play his final round of the LA Open at Riviera, while Bryson DeChambeau has also been attacked on social media for taking too long to play his shots.

The list of players who were timed for slow play by the European Tour in the first four months of 2019 released in a tweet by Edoardo Molinari condemning the problem, which Keith Pelley has taken up with the players representatives and acted upon

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All the European Tour’s new innovations at this week’s GolfSixes point to another fun week as the event moves to Cascais in Portugal. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

THE European Tour’s drive for innovation in golf will continue apace this week when GolfSixes Cascais heralds a new era on continental European soil for the fast and fun six-hole knockout format, which proved such a success in its first two editions in England.

Team Ireland’s Paul Dunne and Gavin Moynihan will defend their title at Oitavos Dunes when the two-day event tees off on Friday, and the field also includes Ryder Cup winners Jamie Donaldson of Wales, Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher and Edoardo Molinari of Italy.

With 16 teams taking part – 12 qualifying teams of European Tour players and four wildcard teams, two of them all-female – the opening day will feature a round-robin format with four groups of four, before the top two teams in each group progress to Saturday’s knockout stages.

Matches will be played in a modified Greensomes format, with all four players teeing off on every hole.

Each duo will choose their team ball for the second shot and will play alternate shots thereafter.

Innovations include:

• Players are permitted to wear shorts in competitive play for the first time in European Tour history
• Players are permitted to use measuring devices for the first time in European Tour history
• To reduce plastic waste, players will be provided with water bottles which they can fill at various stops around the course
• Drone footage will be used during tournament play for the first time
• The fourth hole will utilise a Shot Clock, with all strokes to be played within 30 seconds
• The sixth and final hole will tee off from a platform located on top of a swimming pool, surrounded by fans and VIPs and a live DJ

•For more details about the competition click here.

The Draw:

Friday June 7

Saturday June 8

Quarter-finals

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