Prepare for a new – and rapid-fire – tournament golf format.
Blitz Golf will make its debut tomorrow at South Australia’s Glenelg Golf Club with the full support of the PGA of Australia and many of its leading pros.
The format is designed to provide all the excitement of a 72-hole tournament in only 18 holes in one afternoon before a final shootout to determine the winner.
Blitz Golf has lured 40 professionals including household names Craig Parry, Peter O’Malley and Richard Green plus young guns Jordan Zunic, Lucas Herbert and Dimi Papadatos split into two pools of 20 to compete over the first nine holes.
Both pools are then cut to the top 12 players for round two and compete over a further six holes. A second cut halves each pool again for the final three holes.
After the three-hole sprint, the top two players in each pool meet at the 18th tee to compete for the title of 2018 Blitz Golf Champion and the lion’s share of the $45,000 purse.
Blitz Golf is the brain child of Adelaide property developer Simon Zybek, who likens the format to golf’s version of T20 cricket.
“Being relatively time-poor myself, I thought spectators and players alike would take a keen interest in a shorter version of the sport,” Zybek said.
“In the same way many other sports have adopted shorter formats, Blitz Golf has an opportunity to attract new people to the sport, in particular families and a younger demographic.
“The whole idea of Blitz Golf is that the stakes become higher as the golf gets shorter and we’ll have a result at the end of the day. The concept has evolved quickly with great support from the PGA of Australia as well as the wider golfing community and corporate sponsors.”
Chairman of the PGA of Australia and one of Australia’s most well known professionals Peter O’Malley is in the field and also excited about seeing the format played for the first time.
“I’m very much looking forward to playing in the first Blitz Golf tournament this week,” O’Malley said.
“The format is very appealing and I think we’ll see some aggressive golf as we get players scrambling to advance through the rounds. It’ll certainly be entertaining for the fans.”
The afternoon at Glenelg Golf Club has so much more on offer for the viewing public, too, with a free junior clinic, carnival rides, DJs, food trucks, the chance to win major prizes including a brand new caravan plus a wedge shootout for the professionals.