Aussie Tour Introducing New Knockout Golf Format, Shows It Has Guts
by Ryan Ballengee on Jun 4, 2010 3:33 PM EDT
in Pro Golf
Email
PrintMove over, Mojo6! (Albeit only slightly!) The Australian PGA Tour is implementing a new golf format at a tournament in January that is an unconventionalist's dream. They're calling it Surfcoast Knockout. Here's how it works:
There's a field of 132 players. They play three rounds of stroke play golf, with cuts to the low 50 and ties after the second round, and then to the low 32 after round three. A final round will then be played in six-hole matches among the remaining thirty-two. The format continues until a champion is crowned.
Sound familiar? It kind of is. The six-hole match format resembles Mojo6. The final day match play sounds an awful lot like what players and writers and fans suggested be the format for the Tour Championship to determine the FedExCup champion. Ultimately, the Tour has ignored that suggestion to date despite its brilliance and the surefire interest it would generate.
What's better is that the announcement has drawn immediate support from Aussie players despite this experimental tournament having a meager AUS$135,000 purse.
The format is fun because it encourages match play aggression on the final day. It also allows the more calculating player to do qualify in stroke play. With three rounds to determine the match play combatants, there is a much higher likelihood of the best players making the final day chaos.
Is there any way that the Tour would consider taking a struggling tournament and converting it to this format? Might be something worth exploring along with the notion of "designated tournaments."
5 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Wow – the AUSSIE Tour, eh ? Look out Hooters Tour – there’s going to be a mass exodus for this one !
Let’s see – 132 guys start – 32 get paid ? That’ll be popular.
To answer your question – No – get a grip. MAJOR Tour will not play a tournament format like this. One more time – the regular season is regular stroke play for a reason – consistency. These days, especially for Fed Ex Cup points.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
I think it’s the final 50 and ties that get paid, not all 132, but not totally sure on that.
Look, we have a match play event for $8.5 million that is a complete crapshoot. Why not have an event – ANY event – that uses a format other than boring, old stroke play?
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroom, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
Ok – that’s still less than 50%. Too big a field. This is amateur stuff – not professional stuff.
The size of the purse has nothing to do with matchplay being a crapshoot. It’s the nature of the beast.
Boring ol’ stroke play ? So tell me – what happend to your TV the years Tiger got knocked out in the first or second round ?
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
I always watched. I love match play. I know I’m not like a lot of casual fans, but I think it’s really important to showcase golf in a lot of ways.
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroom, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jun 5, 2010 10:22 AM EDT up reply actions
Ryan...this has merit...
why not indeed….last one standing gets the check…..You don’t think they would all be playing their asses off from the first tee on? Not like hang on, just make the cut and still get a good check…..I will rant on for the elimination of the exempt tour garbage…..Go back to Monday qualifying….than you will see some real competition….let those that can’t cut it go get day jobs or stand behind the counter and sell shirts and balls…..STUB
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Have a golf story tip? Contact editor Charles Boyer and he will follow the story! Thanks!
Related FanPosts on Waggle Room
Related FanShots on Waggle Room
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
