Gary Player - The Legend

Gary Player Headlines The Field For Innovative New Golf Event

Apr 13, 2011 | Filed Under: General NewsEvents & Tournaments   

The International Ambassador of Golf Gary Player will headline the field for an innovative new televised golf event dubbed POWERPLAY GOLF: IGNITION. 

Hailed as golf’s equivalent to Twenty20 Cricket, PowerPlay Golf is an exciting new short form of the game which will captivate all TV sports fans.  Played over nine holes, with two flags on every green, golfers use a limited number of ‘PowerPlays’ to score extra points when aiming at the harder Black Flag, creating exciting risk-and-reward decisions on each tee.

“You are standing in the middle of the 18th fairway at Augusta National tied for the lead; what do you do?  Do you go for the pin?  If you it hit it right you make birdie and win.  If you don’t, you make bogey and lose.  Risk versus Reward - one of the toughest decisions a champion has to make.  PowerPlay Golf is an exciting new competitive format where golfers attack tougher pin positions to achieve better scores.  Now you can experience true risk versus reward on every hole and find out if you have the mind to manage the course correctly and take the right risks at the right time.” said Grand Slam Champion Gary Player. 

Speaking at the launch press conference 2010 Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie, said: “Stand by for something very special. Golf around the world is about to discover a new dimension. We believe the time is right to launch a new format which complements the long form of the game, and adds fresh impetus to the sport. To have the support of Gary Player, who is a golfing icon, is deeply significant.”

The inaugural event will take place at The Celtic Manor Resort on 30 May 2011 and broadcast live on Sky Sports and dozens of other international TV networks.  Joining Player and Montgomerie are reigning US Open Champions Graeme McDowell and Paula Creamer, Ryder Cup stars Paul Casey and Ian Poulter, and Major Championship winners John Daly, Ian Woosnam and Helen Alfredsson. 

The winner of the nine-hole tournament in May will receive £100,000 from a £350,000 prize fund, and PowerPlay Golf will also donate a further 20% of each player’s prize money to the charity of their choice. Working together with international sports marketing giants IMG, PowerPlay Golf will stage its second and third PowerPlay Golf events in Asia on November 7th and in the United States on November 25th, each featuring an eclectic twelve-person field of male and female Tour stars of all ages. Guy Kinnings, Director of IMG Golf EMEA, added: “IMG are very pleased to be partnering PowerPlay Golf in the staging of this inaugural PowerPlay Golf: Ignition event.  With The Celtic Manor Resort providing a wonderful showcase for this intriguing new format, we believe along with the stellar field gathered and the media platforms in place, that PowerPlay Golf has all the ingredients to make a big impact in the game.”

For more information about PowerPlay Golf please visit http://www.powerplay-golf.com.

« Back