MORE HERO CHALLENGE-ESQUE INNOVATIONS

The return of the British Masters is fantastic for golf in this country and it was great to see the European Tour implementing some innovative ideas and giving the fans more opportunities to watch their heroes at The Grove. At the forefront of this was the Hero Challenge – a head-to-head night golf par-3 contest involving the biggest names in the field. It was watched by more than 2,000 people around the hole and aired live on Sky Sports on the Tuesday of tournament week.

The players loved it and the fans loved it. It got people talking and showed the European Tour are prepared to try something a bit different to improve their tournaments. We’re all for it – and it’s set to continue in 2017. The Tour has added the innovative World Super 6 Perth event to the schedule in February and world top 10 players Patrick Reed and Alex Noren have already committed to playing.

No doubt there will be more entertaining innovations added as we move further into 2017. Keith Pelley (left), the European Tour’s chief executive, is hell-bent on turning the circuit into a genuine PGA Tour rival and knows they’ve got to offer something different to achieve it. Exciting times ahead for players and fans.