The European Tour is in Perth Australia this week for the innovative ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth tournament. Players will be competing to a new format.
Lake Karrinyup CC in Perth, Australia will host a new event this week as many top players line up for the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth. The event will combine 54 holes of strokeplay with a knockout matchplay format on the final day.
There will be a regular cut after 36 holes of strokeplay at Lake Karrinyup, reducing the 156-man field to the top 65 and ties. Then, after the third round, the field will be further reduced to just 24. If there is a tie for 24th through 54 holes, a sudden-death playoff will reduce the field to 24 exactly. Then, on the fourth day a six-hole matchplay format will be used to further whittle down the numbers until only two are left and, eventually, a winner is determined.
Any match tied after six holes will be decided at a, purpose-built, 100-yard “Knockout Hole” just by the 18th green. If a winner is not established the first time the hole is played, it will be played again with the victor established via “nearest the pin.”
A number of top players have made the journey to Australia to compete in this innovative event. 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen is in the field, as is Thorbjorn Olesen, both of whom have won tournaments at Lake Karrinyup in the past. Alex Noren of Sweden is the top-ranked player in the field and he is looking forward to a new challenge.
“Obviously it’s going to be pretty tough if a guy is leading by a lot and loses in the first match, but when we’re all here that’s what is expected,” he said. “I think everything where the crowd experiences a new way for us pros to play the game is good.”
The field for this event will be made up of players from the European, Asian and Australasian Tours.
Lake Karrinyup is one of Australia’s top courses. It dates from the 1920s and is characterised by the lush vegetation around the fairways. Eucalyptus and many other towering trees frame the course and a variety of wildlife can be seen around the property. Look out for kangaroos.
The weather forecast looks set fair but it could be pretty hot with temperatures in the 30s.
Venue: Lake Karrinyup CC, Perth Australia
Date: Feb 16-19
Course stats: par 72, 7,143 yards
Purse: €1,300,000
Defending Champion: Inaugural event
TV Coverage:
Thursday 16 – Sky Sports 4 from 5am
Friday 17 – Sky Sports 4 from 5am
Saturday 18 – Sky Sports 4 from 5am
Sunday 19 – Sky Sports 4 from 3am
Player watch at World Super 6 Perth:
Alex Noren – Four-times a winner last year, Noren should contend this week. He hasn’t missed a cut since last year’s U.S. Open.
Alex Noren putting tips video:
Louis Oosthuizen – If he finds his best game he could outclass the field here. He was third a couple of weeks ago in the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Thorbjorn Olesen – The Dane has won on this course before, back in 2014. He won at the end of 2016 in Turkey and played steadily in the Middle East. He’s a tenacious competitor and will relish the knockout format if he makes the top-24.
Sam Brazel – He’ll be keen to please his home fans and show some of the form that saw him claim victory in Hong Kong last December. He was 12th in Malaysia last week.
Key hole: Knockout hole – It will only be 100 yards but this is where a good number of matches, perhaps even the tournament itself, will be decided. Wedge play could be to the fore this week.
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