May 07, 2016: Home favourites England found their form late in the day to claim an emphatic victory and send the crowd away happy on day one of the GolfSixes at the Centurion Club.
Large numbers of fans were treated to entrance music, pyrotechnics, a sprinkling of celebrity and some thrilling golf as the European Tour broke new ground in St Albans at the inaugural event.
There were 16 teams of two battling it out over six holes in a greensomes format, with the teams split into groups of four in a round robin format on Saturday and the top two from each group progressing to the knockout stages on Sunday.
After two draws in their first two matches, top seeds Andy Sullivan and Chris Wood looked in danger of making an early exit but they birdied five of their six holes against the Netherlands to win 4-0 and top Group A.
Denmark beat India 1-0 to also finish on five points but they were bumped down to second in the group on hole difference.
Thailand claimed a 3-1 win over Scotland to top Group B but both teams advanced to the quarter-finals after Belgium won their final match 2-1 against Spain.
Thailand will next face Australia who claimed a dramatic 2-1 win over Wales in Group C, while Scotland will take on Portugal who won the pool despite a closing 1-0 loss to the United States.
France claimed a 1-0 win over South Africa to win Group D and they will take on Denmark, while Italy also won 1-0 against Sweden to set up a clash with England.
Sullivan holed a long putt on the first and that handed England momentum as they started with three birdies to go 3-0 up. Another gain on the fifth stretched their lead before Joost Luiten and Reinier Saxton joined them in birdieing the last.
“We went out, we knew we had to get a quick start,” said Sullivan. “We had to go out there and win the game. To come out of the locks the way we did with three birdies at the start is exactly the start we needed.
“Being the host nation, it’s obviously a lot of home support, which is fantastic for us. We feel like we’ve got the best of the atmosphere out of all the teams. Hopefully that can push us on tomorrow.”
Thorbjørn Olesen and Lucas Bjerregaard made three birdies to SSP Chawrasia and S Chikkarangappa‘s two, with a gain at the fifth bringing the winning point.
Thongchai Jaidee and Kiradech Aphibarnrat entered the week as second seeds and they began with three birdies against Scotland to move 2-0 up and added another on the fifth before Marc Warren and Richie Ramsay won the last.
Nicolas Colsaerts and Thomas Detry birdied the first but a bogey on the fourth levelled their contest against Pablo Larrazábal and Jorge Campillo. A closing gain then got Belgium on the board after two defeats.
“We feel like we’ve got the best of the atmosphere out of all the teams. Hopefully that can push us on tomorrow” – Andy Sullivan
There was high drama on the last as Scott Hend holed a long putt to send him and Sam Brazel into the last eight. Jamie Donaldson and Bradley Dredge had gone 1-0 up with an eagle on the third but Australia birdied the fifth to set up Hend’s big finish.
A birdie on the first was enough to hand Paul Peterson and David Lipsky victory over Ricardo Gouveia and José-Filipe Lima, who lost just one of their 18 holes in group play.
“It feels great,” said Gouveia. “We played really good golf, really steady all the matches. The US played really well in the last match and didn’t give us much there. But really happy to go through to tomorrow.
“If we keep playing like this, it’s going to be hard to beat us. We’ve just got to keep playing well and just keep combining the game really well. That’s what we’ve been doing and let’s hope we get through to the semis tomorrow morning.”
Grégory Bourdy and Alexander Levy beat Brandon Stone and Darren Fichardt in a high quality contest as they birdied their last four holes, with the South Africans unable to match them on the fourth.
“It was good fun,” said Levy. “We enjoyed it a lot. Nice team spirit, fantastic day, good crowd at the end. We are very excited to play tomorrow and I think it’s a fantastic idea to have a tournament like this.
“The last match, we know we need the half to win and we played well and no mistakes. Just some good shots and we won the important match to qualify for tomorrow. I think we are in good position and confident and that’s nice. That’s the most important for tomorrow.”
Matteo Manassero‘s 20-foot putt from the fringe on the last brought a third birdie but the only score of the match as he and Renato Paratore defeated Johan Carlsson and Joakim Lagergren.
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