Golf: Sport gets makeover with short-format teams-based event
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No names have been announced for the upcoming Ultra Golf Championship but among those targeted are Australian Cameron Smith.
PHOTO: AFP
SYDNEY – A new short-format golf event modelled on cricket’s Indian Premier League will debut in Australia in 2023 with 10 city-based teams, including the Bangkok Blades, Dubai Kings and New York Tigers, it was announced on Tuesday.
The Ultra Golf Championship (UGC), designed to revolutionise the sport and broaden its audience, is played over nine holes with four-player teams who include a marquee captain.
No names have been announced, although local reports said world No. 2 Scottie Scheffler of the United States and Australian world No. 3 Cameron Smith are being targeted.
The unique scoring system will reward risk-taking, with 10 points for a hole-in-one, eight for an albatross, six for an eagle, four for a birdie, and two for a par.
There will also be four feature-hole opportunities that must be used, including a longest drive, power-play, alternate-shot and best-ball, where more points can be accumulated.
Teams will play seven rounds and a final series over four days.
The concept is the brainchild of Australian businessman Deke Smith, with the Australian PGA serving as a promoting partner and sanctioning body.
He said: “For more than five years, we’ve been working on the UGC as a short-formed, strategic and tactical golf tournament.
“We are appealing to a wider fan base, giving people a new way to consume their golf, sport and entertainment, and we think that it’s a great way to grow the game of golf.
“We see this concept appealing to a younger audience because we will see a result in two hours of golf. We see parochial sports fans getting behind their own city team.”
It follows the launch of the Saudi-backed LIV series which has lured away many of the sport’s biggest names from the established US and European tours by offering massive prize money for 54-hole events.
Along with Bangkok, Dubai and New York, other teams locked in will represent New Delhi, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Shanghai, Seoul and Tokyo.
“We know once this world-first format has some of the best players in the world showcasing it on TV next year, UGC will become a part of all golf fans’ lives,” said PGA Tour of Australia tournaments director Nick Dastey.
It will debut at a yet-to-be-announced course next December with Smith planning to turn it into a global series, with “some really high net worth (individuals) behind it”.
“We are already in (negotiations) with five or six really key players from around the world,” he told The Australian newspaper.
“People around the world have seen what has happened with cricket and that short-form game.
“To be perfectly honest, we have modelled it off the Indian Premier League.”
AFP, REUTERS
