Golf explores new formulas to keep spectators' attention throughout its long sporting season: this week, in fact, the Pga Tour is fielding an unprecedented experiment in Louisiana, in New Orleans. It's a two-day foursome challenge in pairs (one shot each: everyone plays their ball and the best result is chosen).
There are 80 pairs and after 36 holes, with the cut, there will be 35 and tied. At the end of 72 holes, any pairs tied will compete in a match play, a confrontation between teams, with "sudden death" elimination, sudden death, whoever makes a mistake is out. The event is the Zurich Classic, a championship race transformed into a duel between teams formed by two players, in a way that hasn't happened since 1981.
The field is excellent and the original teams. Everyone could choose their partner from among the players on the circuit, with no nation or even continent limits. Thus was born one of the most heterogeneous and brilliant couples: the one formed by the Australian Jason Day and the American Rickie Fowler. At the top of the list of favourites, however, we find an all-European team, formed by the Englishman Justin Rose and the Swedish Henrik Stenson, already partners in the Ryder Cup and respectively gold and silver medals at the Rio Olympics.
Some teams think they take advantage of the fact that their connection dates back to their college years. This is the case of Billy Horschel and Matt Everyone, Jason Dufner and Patton Kizzire, Justin Thomas and Bud Cauley. Then there are teams that play with the same flag, such as the Japanese Hideki Matsuyama and Hideto Tanihara or the Koreans Seung-Yul Noh and Byeong Hun An. There are those who take the opportunity to introduce a family member to the circuit, such as Brooks Koepka with his brother Chase.
Finally there is a couple born from a bet: it is the one made up of Jordan Spieth and Ryan Palmer. Before a friendly match between the two in Dallas, Palmer's caddy made the proposal: if Jordan loses, he plays Ryan in Louisiana. The rest is history.
It starts today and ends on Sunday. Up for grabs are Fedex points, those for the world ranking, 7,1 million dollars in prize money and a first coin of over a million dollars. The winning couple divides the accumulation of advantages also incorporating points and money of the runner-up of a normal match; to follow, the seconds will divide the accumulation of the third and fourth and so on.
For example, the Fedex points up for grabs are 500 for the first and 300 for the second. In the race in question the two winners will share 800 points, 400 each. The exemptions, on the other hand, double. We'll see, it's an honorable attempt to entertain players and the public, just a pity that three big names like Sergio Garcia, Rory McIlory and Dustin Johnson are missing.
The European tour, on the other hand, from today to Sunday, is in China for the Volvo China Open and concludes a long phase of 18 events outside the Old Continent. On the field there are four Italians, Matteo Manassero, Edoardo Molinari, Renato Paratore and Nino Bertasio, already present last week in Shenzhen, in the tournament won by the Austrian Bernd Wiesberger who is also among the favorites on the Topwin Golf & CC course in Beijing .
The jackpot is 2,66 million euros, around 450 thousand euros for the first. The European Tour will finally come home on May 6 for the Golf Sixes, at the Centurion Club in St Albans, England.
