Monday 20 March 2017 17:09, UK
Chris Wood and Andy Sullivan will renew their partnership when they team up for England at the innovative new GolfSixes tournament in May.
The inaugural two-day shootout will take place at the Centurion Club in Hertfordshire on May 6-7, with Wood and Sullivan hoping to give the home fans plenty of cheer in the 16-team competition.
The Ryder Cup stars teamed up for the World Cup of Golf last year, but a bad third round left them too far back to contend as they finish 11 shots behind runaway winners Denmark, represented by Thorbjorn Olesen and Soren Kjeldsen.
Olesen will tee it up in the GolfSixes alongside Lucas Bjerregaard, while former European Ryder Cup players Nicolas Colsaerts and Jamie Donaldson have also committed to the exciting new event.
The innovations will include amphitheatre-style stands around the tees and greens, music and pyrotechnics, an activity-packed fanzone and unprecedented player engagement, bringing fans closer to the action.
Wood said: "Sully and I are good mates and I think we make a good team. We've both had amazing experiences in the past representing Europe at the Ryder Cup, and England at the World Cup of Golf.
"With the countries who are taking part, there could be some pretty intriguing rivalries thrown up and I'm sure we'll see plenty of passion from the players and the fans.
"It's a fresh, new format and I think that's very welcome in golf right now. It should be an entertaining weekend, and I'm interested to see how it all works with the innovations inside and outside the ropes."
Olesen added: "There aren't too many opportunities to play team golf, and it definitely adds an extra edge when you are representing your country. I had a lot of fun playing for Denmark at the World Cup of Golf last year. It was a proud moment to lift the trophy, and I would love to make it two in a row for Denmark.
"GolfSixes is a really interesting concept and I'm looking forward to being involved in the first ever edition of the tournament. I think it's important to try out new things, and hopefully it captures the imagination of fans too. Lucas and I will be hoping to see some Danes amongst the crowd!"
The new six-hole format starts on Saturday May 6 with teams split into four groups of four, with the top two teams from each group progressing to the knockout stages - the quarter-finals, the semi-finals, a third/fourth place play-off match and the final - all of which will be contested on Sunday May 7.
In the group stages, three points will be given for victory with one point given for a draw while the matches themselves will be played in a greensomes match play format. Both days' play will be shown live on Sky Sports.
Tickets can be snapped up for just £6 now at www.golfsixes.com/tickets. A family of four can have a great day out for under £20, with children's tickets (10 to 17 years old) available for £3 and free entry for under 10s.
Confirmed field, in order of seeding:
1) ENGLAND: Chris Wood, Andy Sullivan
2) ITALY: Matteo Manassero, Renato Paratore
3) THAILAND: Thongchai Jaidee, Kiradech Aphibarnrat
4) INDIA: SSP Chawrasia, Chikkarangappa S
5) AUSTRALIA: Sam Brazel, Scott Hend
6) DENMARK: Thorbjorn Olesen, Lucas Bjerregaard
7) FRANCE: Alexander Levy, Gregory Bourdy
8) NETHERLANDS; Joost Luiten, Reinier Saxton
9) SWEDEN: Kristoffer Broberg, Joakim Lagergren
10) SPAIN: Pablo Larrazabal, Alejandro Canizares
11) SCOTLAND: Richie Ramsay, Marc Warren
12) SOUTH AFRICA: Darren Fichardt, Brandon Stone
13) USA: Paul Peterson, David Lipsky
14) WALES: Bradley Dredge, Jamie Donaldson
15) BELGIUM: Nicolas Colsaerts, Thomas Detry
16) PORTUGAL: Ricardo Gouveia, Jose-Filipe Lima
