Published July 17, 2008 on April 26, 2018

Stars Gather in St Albans for GolfSixes Pro-Am

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Stars of TV, music, and sport will gather for the GolfSixes Celebrity Pro-Am, before the second edition of the innovative event gets underway at Centurion Club in St Albans, near London.

Chris Hughes of award-winning ITV programme Love Island and Gary Beadle of hit MTV show Geordie Shore will make their debuts in the event, which starts off an exciting weekend of golf on Friday May 4.

TV host Vernon Kay, who will once again co-host the fast and fun six-hole tournament, will also tee it up in the Pro-Am before he takes on hosting duties alongside Golfing World’s Anna Whiteley over the weekend of May 5-6.

Also teeing it up are Irish music stars Keith Duffy of Boyzone and Westlife’s Brian McFadden. World Cup-winning rugby star Schalk Burger will bring a competitive edge to proceedings, alongside his Saracens team mate and fellow South African Schalk Brits.

They will be joined by TV and radio presenter Jenni Falconer, who will compete as part of a new activity with the PGAs of Europe in conjunction with love.golf, as she is guided through the process of being introduced to the game, learning, and ultimately becoming a fully-fledged golfer.

The activity aims to shine a light on the journey that female golfers can take to get into golf, looking at the various challenges, questions, and benefits that can be experienced by women and girls.

YouTuber Seb Carmichael Brown of Seb on Golf and Hashtag United fame will also be participating and, of course, sharing his experiences on social media.

This year’s GolfSixes event features some exciting new developments with the inclusion of wildcard teams, including an England Women’s Team of Charley Hull and Georgia Hall and a Captains Team pairing Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjørn and his Solheim Cup counterpart Catriona Matthew, as they become the first male and female professionals to play together in a competitive match play format on the European Tour.

Defending champions Lucas Bjerregaard and Thorbjørn Olesen will return to represent Denmark in the fast-paced competition as the 16 teams go head to head for a total prize fund of €1 million with the eventual winners receiving €100,000 each.

The 16 teams will compete over six holes in a group stage, with teams split into four groups of four, before the top two teams from each group progress to the knockout stages – the quarter-finals, the semi-finals, a third/fourth place play-off match and the final – on Sunday May 6.

In the group stages, three points will be given for victory with one point awarded for a draw and the matches will be played in a greensomes match play format.

Once again the six holes will be themed, with the popular shot clock hole returning – with a penalty imposed if players take longer than 30 seconds per shot – alongside the long drive and closest to the pin holes.

The innovative six-hole competition will have a festival feel with a centrally-located Fan Zone full of entertainment for all the family.

The Groups (full match schedule to be confirmed):

Group A
Denmark – Lucas Bjerregaard and Thorbjørn Olesen
Thailand – Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Thongchai Jaidee
USA – Daniel Im and David Lipsky
European Women – Carlota Ciganda and Mel Reid

Group B
Australia – Sam Brazel and Wade Ormsby
South Korea – Jeunghun Wang and Soomin Lee
Spain – Pablo Larrazábal and Adrian Otaegui
European Captains – Thomas Bjørn and Catriona Matthew

Group C
France – Mike Lorenzo-Vera and Romain Wattel
Italy – Edoardo Molinari and Renato Paratore
Scotland – Scott Jamieson and Richie Ramsay
Ireland – Paul Dunne and Gavin Moynihan

Group D
England – Eddie Pepperell and Matt Wallace
South Africa – George Coetzee and Haydn Porteous
Sweden – Alexander Björk and Joakim Lagergren
England Women – Georgia Hall and Charley Hull