LET Invents New Format

by Mulligan Stu on Apr 6, 2008 11:47 AM EDT

Oh, those wacky Europeans. The Ladies European Tour's VCI European Ladies Cup concluded this morning, with the English twosome of Trish Johnson and Rebecca Hudson claiming a 5-stroke victory over the German tandem of Anja Monke and Martina Eberl. Yes, as you can guess, it was a 2-person team competition, each team representing a country.

And the format used was a combination of better ball, greensomes and Chapman System. My guess is the American twosome was very confused (Europeans play alternative formats all the time in club competitions; Americans pretty much play only stroke and match play competitively).

But this event went one further by inventing a completely new format it dubbed "Valencian Cup" after the title sponsor.

In the first and third rounds, the tournament format was better ball. What in match play would be called foursomes. Both team members play their own ball, the low score of the two counts.

In the second and fourth rounds, the format was the newfangled "Valencian Cup," a combination of greensomes and Chapman.

To summarize those two existing formats:

Chapman: Both players tee off, then switch balls. The second shots are played, and the best of those two shots is selected. From there it's alternate shot into the hole.
Greensomes: Both players tee off, the best drive is chosen, then it's alternate shot into the hole. (A scramble for two people.)

The LET further complicates things by referring to the "Greensome Chapman System" as if it is one format. And so it probably is in Europe. In the U.S., they are two different formats.

Here's how the new "Valencian Cup" format is explained on the LET Web site:

The competition will feature Better-ball on days one and three, with a new format called the "Valencian Cup" played on days two and four.

The new format is a variation on the Greensome Chapman System and was created by the event promoter Deporte&Business with the input of Spanish golf professional Marta Figueras-Dotti.

In the normal Greensome Chapman System, both players tee off and then they switch balls. Player A plays Player B's drive and vice versa. Usually, they would select the best second shot on every hole, and from that point until the ball is holed they would play one golf ball in alternate shot format.

The difference with the "Valencian Cup" system is that this system only applies to the par fours.

For the par threes, alternative shots are played after the drives. For the par fives, players will hit three shots each, switching balls each time, and will then select the best third shot before playing alternative shots with the same ball for the remainder of the hole.

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