It’s a battle of the sexes as well as sixes
Pepperell delighted that women will be competing but couldn’t bear losing to them
By Eddie Pepperell will only have himself to blame if he and England team-mate Matt Wallace lose out in a battle of the sexes in this weekend’s Golf Sixes.
But the world No 100 insists he would welcome one of the women’s teams winning the second edition of the innovative event after lobbying for their inclusion.
Sixteen teams will again compete over six holes of greensomes match play at Centurion Club in St Albans, where both players tee off on each hole, then choose the best tee shot and take alternate shots from then on.
However, four wild-card teams are among the 16 and include two female pairs – Charley Hull and Georgia Hall, Mel Reid and Carlota Ciganda – and the mixed duo of Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn and Scotland’s Solheim Cup skipper Catriona Matthew.
“I’d rather beat the ladies tomorrow and miss every cut for the rest of the year than lose and play well the rest of the year,” Pepperell, who is a member of the European Tour’s tournament committee, joked. “We’ll get some stick on social media if we lose but it’s all good fun.
“I think it’s actually brilliant for the event that the ladies are here. I remember having a conversation with [assistant director of Tour operations] David Probyn and [committee chairman] David Howell back in January about this event because we were keen on adding new elements and the ladies were part of that.
“So it’s either going to be my fault or my great idea. I think it’s really cool and obviously me and Matt would love to win, but if we don’t then I wouldn’t begrudge either of the ladies’ teams winning to be honest.
“If I was to have a vision of this event moving forward it would be that it would actually become a festival of golf, it wouldn’t just be us guys and the ladies, it would be juniors and amateurs and I think that’s a really nice vision.
“In five years’ time if this event can still be here and be bigger and get more people involved across the board that would be a great success and I think that’s where the Tour wants to take it.”
The 16 teams have been split into groups of four, with the top two from each group advancing to tomorrow’s knockout stages, with Pepperell and Wallace taking on Solheim Cup team-mates Hull and Hall in the first match in Group D today.
“Personally I think it would be massive if one of the women’s teams won it,” Hall said. “The pressure is on the men, 100 per cent, because we’re in England and it’s the men’s European Tour. I think it’s a great chance for us to show what we can do. “When we knew we were going to be part of it, it’s been kind of the number one event on my mind. I’ve been looking forward to it the most because I love team events as well. I think it’s a great opportunity.”
Each of the six holes has its own theme, including a longdrive contest, nearest the pin and a shot clock, where players will be penalised a shot for exceeding a 30-second time limit.
The women will play from forward tees on five holes, the 136-yard fifth being the exception, gaining a total of 200 yards on the men.