Min Woo Lee wasn’t the winner of the ISPS HANDA Super 6 Perth; Australian golf was.

A reliance on our PGA Tour regulars such as Jason Day, Marc Leishman, Adam Scott and Cameron Smith to carry the torch for the game in this country is now slightly less pronounced after Lee stamped his credentials as a superstar in the making.

A late inclusion into the tournament only after missing the cut on the Web.com Tour Panama Championship, Lee used his fourth start as a professional to record a second top-five finish in just his third European Tour event.

When he finished fourth at the Saudi International a fortnight ago his world ranking rose 610 spots from 970 to 360; he wants to be inside the top-50 by the end of the year.

As a result of his early success, Lee has redirected his sights from the United States momentarily to playing opportunities in Europe, the next of which will be the Oman Open in two weeks’ time by virtue of qualifying for Sunday’s quarter-finals.

While his tie for fifth provides some short-term certainty to his playing schedule, it is the impact the 20-year-old can have on Australian golf long-term that should have golf’s governing bodies in this country most excited.

A bogey on his final hole at Lake Karrinyup Country Club on Saturday meant that Lee missed out on a first-round bye Sunday morning but accounted first for veteran Frenchman Gregory Bourdy at the third trip down the knockout hole and then went extra-time with tournament favourite Thomas Pieters, winning 1-up when the Belgian three-putted the final hole from the back fringe.

Spaniard match play specialist Adrian Otaegui ultimately brought his giant-killing run to an end but his progression to the quarter-finals for the second year running will have left a lasting impression on the gallery that swelled throughout the morning.

Making just his fourth start as a professional in his hometown doesn’t hurt in winning favour but the energy that flowed through the parochial Perth supporters is a rare and powerful attribute; few players in world golf could have created a similar atmosphere on Sunday.

“Nowhere else you go do you have that,” Lee said of the hometown support.

“You have this energy, so it’s really nice to get the home crowd backing me. That was really special.

“Some of the roars I had is just what you play for. It’s an amazing feeling, I can’t really describe it.

“When you hole a putt, you just expect that loud roar.”

When Lee is playing the roars don’t only come from within the gallery.

The Royal Fremantle member greeted a birdie on the second hole against Otaegui with a Lleyton Hewitt-esque “Come on!” and is not afraid to share his emotions rather than hiding them below the surface.

As we squabble over ways to bring the best players – including our own – back to our shores, Lee’s exhilarating style of play attracted galleries three deep to watch him.

And remember, this is a 20-year-old rookie without a card on any of the world tours.

That will soon change and if we are looking for ways to secure the long-term future of this tournament in particular, signing Lee to a 10-year contract to play in it would be an excellent way to start.

With a sister ranked the sixth-best female golfer in the world, Perth people have been saying for a while that he is destined to be great but professional sport is littered with fables of sure things who never were.

Plenty of good players do make the leap and forge a nice living; a rare few capture the public’s imagination as they do it.

In less than two months Lee has shown that his game matches up against the best in the world and given a confident kid the extra belief he may not have even needed to start forging his name.

“I knew I could play,” Lee said of matching it with elite professionals so early in his career.

“Being an amateur last year and coming top five was nice.

“I’m just happy that it’s coming together and I’m proving to myself – and proving to others – that I can actually play.”

Point. Made.

Ryan Fox has claimed the maiden European Tour title of his career with a commanding win over Spain’s Adrian Otaegui in the final of the ISPS HANDA Super 6 Perth tournament at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.

The top 24 players advanced to the final day for the match play phase of the tournament with Fox winning three matches and Otaegui four before meeting in the six-hole final.

While he needed nine holes – including three trips up and back at the short knockout hole – to get past Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond in his first match, Fox needed just four to secure the biggest win of his career, conceded his par putt on the fourth hole to win 3&2.

Fox’s first win as a professional was at nearby Cottesloe Golf Club in the 2014 WA Open and he will forever have fond memories of Lake Karrinyup after breaking through for a first European Tour title.

Ranked No.85 in the world at the start of the week – and due to get married following the New Zealand Open in two weeks’ time – Fox will now inch towards the coveted top 50 in the world and the opportunities that opens up.

Taking advantage of a first-round bye, Fox defeated Janewattananond, Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan and Irishman Paul Dunne while Otaegui got the better of Sydney’s Daniel Gale, No.1 seed Per Langfors, local hope Min Woo Lee and Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent.

In the playoff for third Dunne edged out Vincent at the knockout hole to claim outright third.

It shapes as the last piece of the puzzle for Ryan Fox to join world golf’s elite but first the 32-year-old Kiwi needs to rewrite his wedding speech.

A two-time winner on both the Australasian and Challenge Tour, Fox broke through for his first European Tour title with a commanding win over Spain’s Adrian Otaegui in the final of the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth tournament at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.

Despite virtually zero experience of match play as a professional, he didn’t lose one of the 25 holes that he played on Sunday, edging past Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond after a first-round bye and then accounting for Kristoffer Reitan and Paul Dunne on his way to the final.

Otaegui – unbeaten in 12 matches in his two previous European Tour wins – defeated Daniel Gale, Per Langfors, Min Woo Lee and Scott Vincent before running into a rampant Fox in the final.

A par was enough for Fox to claim the first hole and when he followed it with birdies at the next two had a 3-up lead with just three holes to play. He needed just one more, halving the par-4 fourth hole in pars to claim a 3&2 win.

The win brings with it guaranteed status on the European Tour through until the end of the 2020 season and a move up to 11th in the Race to Dubai standings but in a warning to those ahead of him on the world rankings, most importantly a confidence boost that he has what it takes to beat the world’s best.

“It felt like it’s been really close. It’s almost relief now that it’s happened,” said Fox, who was denied the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open last year in a playoff against Russell Knox.

“In Ireland I did everything right and just had someone do something incredible on me and I knew if I was in that situation again I’d feel as comfortable as I could. I definitely felt comfortable out there most of the day.

“I’m sure it might be different coming down the stretch in a stroke play tournament trying to win but this will certainly free things up for the rest of the year. I can go on feeling confident.

“If I play well I feel like I can compete with anyone in the world and I think that’s a pretty dangerous place to be.”

Otaegui took 102 starts before he won his first European Tour event in 2017 and has no doubt that Fox has the game to climb much higher in the world rankings.

“He’s a very good player obviously. He’s been in contention in many events,” said Otaegui, who moved up to 28th in the Race to Dubai standings.

“Obviously runner-up at the Rolex Series last year and he’s got great potential.

“I’m sure he’ll do very well in the next tournaments.”

A fishing trip planned for Monday that has been already been postponed by one day means Fox will not know how much he has moved from No.85 on the world rankings until late on Tuesday but he will be significantly closer to achieving one of his goals for 2019.

“It’s probably going to help my world ranking, it’s going to get closer to top-50,” he said.

“That’s where we all strive to be. You get into the majors and the WGCs. That was a goal at the start of the year and it’s a goal that should be a fair bit closer now.

“I don’t know what the goals will be going forward. New Zealand Open, I’ve got a few weeks off after that but I’m sure over the next few weeks I’ll get a chance to sit down and rethink everything and set goals for the rest of the year.”

Fox’s last win was the Challenge Tour’s Tayto Northern Ireland Open in July 2016, the timing of his latest win coming with only one slight downside.

Booked in to marry long-time partner Anneke the week after the New Zealand Open, Fox’s opening gag about not giving a winner’s speech for a long time now in need of a rewrite.

“It’s been 10 years in the making, getting married, and it’s actually killed one of my speech jokes,” Fox said.

“I was looking at running my speech as a golf speech and say that I hadn’t done one for a while.

“My mates were giving me a bit of stick about that but they can’t get me with that anymore which is nice.

“I’ve got some practice kissing the trophy too which was nice.”

Thomas Pieters, one half of the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf winning Belgium team, will lead six players from around the globe to the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth next year at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.

World Number 70 Pieters, Englishman Tom Lewis, Australian Lucas Herbert, New Zealander Ryan Fox, Spaniard Jorge Campillo and Japan’s Yusaku Miyazato will all tee it up in Perth, 14-17 February 2019.

This will be the first time that Pieters has competed at the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth however he will be reacquainted with Lake Karrinyup after he previously played there in 2014.

While he missed the cut back then, he returns to Perth a much more experienced player having won on the European Tour four times including his most recent, a team victory, in Melbourne.

Pieter’s will also be familiar with the hybrid stroke play/match play format after competing in the Belgian Knockout which was modelled on the Super 6 format.

“I always enjoy playing in Australia and from what I remember Lake Karrinyup is a fantastic layout that I am looking forward to playing again,” said Pieters.

“I enjoyed playing and hosting the Belgian Knockout. Different formats of the game are interesting and help engage the fans. I think these tournaments are helping move golf in a positive direction.”

While Campillo will be making his first trip to Western Australia and debut in the innovative event, Fox, Lewis, Miyazato and Herbert will make return appearances to the tournament, one that the 23-year-old Australian is looking forward to.

In 2018 Herbert has made a meteoric rise up of the Official World Golf Rankings after he parlayed a third place finish at the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth into 19 starts on the European Tour, finishing 47^th in the Race to Dubai to earn a full card for the 2019 season and move from 226^th in the world rankings at the start of the year to as high as 78^th by October.

“I started this year without status on a major Tour but with the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth being tri-sanctioned with Europe and Asia, I knew the tournament presented some opportunities I needed to capitalise on,” said Herbert.

“I played really well in Perth, I love Lake Karrinyup and the fast-paced Super 6 format suits the way I like to play golf; aggressive! I was able to turn a really good week in Perth into a pretty special year.

“I am looking forward to getting back there in February as a European Tour player and hopefully end the week a European Tour winner.”

Tourism Minister Paul Papalia said the headline players would ensure an exciting tournament in 2019.

“We look forward to welcoming these quality players to Perth, Western Australia, and wish them the best of luck on the Lake Karrinyup course.

"Events play a crucial role in adding vibrancy to the State and helping to raise the profile of WA through valuable media exposure.

"The tournament is broadcast across the globe, giving us the opportunity to showcase Perth to an international audience.”

Supporting the vision to innovate golf, ISPS HANDA is delighted to see a strong field starting to assemble for the third staging of the tournament.

“The ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth and its new format bring a dynamic dimension to the game. ISPS is grateful to the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia and the European Tour for its efforts to evolve golf through such tournaments, making the sport more dynamic and more inclusive – so that more people than ever feel encouraged to participate,” said Dr. Haruhisa Handa, Founder and Chairman, ISPS HANDA.

“We’re delighted Thomas Pieters will be joining the field after his great success at the recent the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf in Melbourne. We are sure he and his fellow golfers will captivate and inspire audiences around the globe, to showcase the power of sport.”

Gavin Kirkman, CEO of the PGA of Australia, which owns the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia, is pleased that the unique format is attracting the attention of the world.

“This will be the third staging of the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth and it is great to see players responding so favourably to the format. We had the vision to create something different for world golf and we certainly have delivered that in Perth,” said Kirkman.

“Tournaments like the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth are important opportunities for young Australian golfers. It provides them with the platform to test their games against some of the world’s best players but even more poignant, the tri-sanctioning allows them to establish themselves on an international tour if they capitalise on the week.

“Lucas Herbert is a fantastic example of a young player taking advantage of the opportunities available via the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.”

Cho Minn Thant, Chief Operating Officer of the Asian Tour added, “Thanks to Dr. Haruhisa Handa, Founder and Chairman of ISPS HANDA, for his sponsorship and support, the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth has always been one of the key highlights on the Asian Tour schedule.

“The popular event has garnered enormous interest globally due to its innovative format. Apart from an enhanced fan experience, its format also injects a fresh challenge for the players.

“We were proud to see Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat win the tournament this year and look forward to welcoming another worthy winner next year.”

Ben Cowen, Head of International Policy, European Tour added, “The ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth is a truly unique event, and we are thrilled that it is attracting players of the highest calibre from all over the world.

“We are sure that the 2019 edition will be another huge success, and with this format encouraging such drama, it will be another great spectacle.”

Tickets to the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth from 14-17 February at Lake Karrinyup Country Club are now on sale at Ticketmaster.

General admission is $25* when purchased at the gate or via Ticketmaster with children, 16 and under, granted free admission when attending with a paying adult.

If a marquee is more your style, a number of different corporate hospitality options are also available, please visit worldsuper6perth.com.au.

The ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth delivered on its promise of drama as an action packed Saturday afternoon unfolded at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.

Defending champion Brett Rumford and Lee Westwood cruised into the third round tied for the lead but the pair found trouble at every turn as they each posted 6-over 78 to tumble down the leaderboard and end their tournaments.

“It was a tiring day, I just didn’t play well…I just didn’t control my golf ball as well as I should have done,” said Rumford.

His playing partner for three days, Westwood added, “Not a lot went my way.  Disappointing, but that’s how it goes sometimes. I think it’s a good format, very exciting. I like it.”

Enjoying a far better day on course, Thai player Prom Meesawat fired 5-under 67 to claim the top seed and a first round bye.

“I’m very happy to finish first, but still a lot of golf for tomorrow and I think it’s going to be good fun,” said Meesawat.

“I’ve got a good chance. In match play, everything can happen. Like last year, the last guy got in and he just knocked out everyone to get to the final.  So you never know.

“I’m going to try to be like Rummy, he finished first and then won the tournament, so that’s my goal.”

Joining Meesawat with a bye through to the second round are the top-8 seeds; Sean Crocker (USA), Lucas Herbert (AUS), Thorbjorn Olesen (DNK), Dimitrios Papadatos (AUS), Brad Kennedy (AUS), Yusaku Miyazato (JPN) and Sam Horsfield (ENG).

While usually the top end of the leaderboard commands all the attention on the Saturday of a golf tournament, at the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth the drama unfolded further back as players vied to make the top-24.

At the end of 54  holes nine players were tied at 5-under the card, needing to playoff for the final eight places for Sunday’s match play.

Making par on the first playoff hole, Callan O’Reilly (AUS), Stephen Leaney (AUS), Poom Saksansin (THA), Satoshi Kodaira (JPN), Yi-keun Chang (KOR), Andrea Pavan (ITA) and Zander Lombard (RSA) all advanced.

However Kiradech Aphibarnrat (THA) and Anthony Quayle (AUS) both made bogey sending them back to the tee to playoff for the final position.

It took an extra three trips down the 18^th for Aphibarnrat to claim the spot with a par while Quayle made bogey.

The other highlight of the day belonged to West Australian amateur Min Woo Lee who progressed to the match play as the 11^th seed.

To view all 24 players who advanced to the six hole match play portion of the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth please visit pga.org.au.

The match play draw will be made available at pga.org.au by 9pm AWST.

Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen and Victorian Lucas Herbert have climbed the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth leaderboard early in the second round at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.

Olesen, beginning from the 10^th tee this morning turned his form around following a frustrating opening round to shoot  5-under 67, moving to 7-under the card.

Teeing off in the morning was an advantage for both Olesen and Herbert as the winds picked up around the course.

“It was difficult, it was quite breezy this morning also at 7:00am. Definitely in the last hour or so it picked up a lot, so I’m very happy with my score and it’s going to be tough for the guys this afternoon,” said Olesen.

“The course is firming up a little bit also, so it will be difficult for guys to get it close to the pin, but obviously if you’re playing really, really well, you could shoot a score but it’s definitely going to be tough.”

Olesen just missed out on qualifying for last year’s top-24, admitting his play in the third round was not up to scratch 12 months ago.

“I really, really like this golf course, I think it’s really good, and last year I just had a bad Saturday and I’ll try to do that different tomorrow.”

Herbert, who did qualify in the top-24 last year, shot a round of 3-under 69 to join Olesen at 7-under the card.

“Obviously it’s so tough with that wind.  I actually thought I really didn’t play that well, either, so to finish at 3-under, I’m really stoked with that and I’m going to sit very happy with that this afternoon,” said Herbert.

“I really like it here. The greens, the layout, the length of holes, everything just sets up really well for me.  So yeah, I love coming here every year, I can play pretty average golf and still score really well around here.”

The 22-year-old who will make his major debut in The 147^th Open Championship this year, said he learned some lessons from this tournament 12 months ago after being bundled out in the second round of match play by eventual runner-up Phachara Khongwatmai.

It was a pre-mature exit considering his strong play through 54 holes to finish the stroke-play in 6^th position.

“Twelve months on was a good learning curve, I got off to the first round and probably made a couple mistakes there, but there’s no chance of that happening again, learnt from them so well.

“I’m really looking forward to Sunday, I would love to stick myself in that top-8 again so I can just see how those first matches out there on the course go and give myself a little break there in the morning.”

The afternoon field is now on course.

Reigning ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth champion Brett Rumford got his title defense off to the perfect start at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.

The West Australian was off to a flyer with seven birdies on his front-9, he stumbled with bogeys on the 1^st and 3^rd holes (his 10^th and 12^th) before getting back on track with three more birdies coming home to finish 8-under 64 and hold a two shot lead.

“I’m leading, I’m inside the top-24 and that’s my only focus this week is to finish inside that number whether I lead the qualifying again. That would be a nice bonus but it’s not my priority this week and I’m playing accordingly,” said Rumford who led for all three rounds in last year’s tournament before the match play on Sunday.

“I think some golf courses just fit your eye and others don’t.  It’s not always the case, but generally you find as a trend that a lot of players go back and play well when they’ve had a lot of good performances there, and this (Lake Karrinyup Country Club) is one of them.

“The fairways are nice and generous; it’s just a flowing golf course. A lot of the holes are framed to the eye, it tells you which shot to hit, and I just love that kind of golf.

“The greens are great and I’ve played here a lot.  So I don’t know what it is, but definitely seems to be some kind of home course advantage.”

Rumford played in the same group as Lee Westwood, who finished on 6-under 66 to hold second position early, the pair enjoyed a ding-dong battle throughout their round before Rumford pulled away to lead by two.

The third player in the group, Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston, set the tone with an eagle on the 10^th, their first hole of the day.

“I think Beef threw the first punch with a 2 at our first, the 10th hole, and I guess we just fed off each other from there,” added Rumford.

“Lee was playing great golf, steady like he normally does, and the greens were rolling nicely so if you got the ball on line rolling, if you got it to the hole, there’s no deviation to the greens.  So unfortunately Beef had a bit of trouble on that front-9, which is our back, but outside of that I think we all played pretty steady golf, decent golf, and I think that’s what you need to do around Karrinyup.”

Westwood said he was happy with his strong start to the tournament, albeit with some putts not dropping, and hopes to cement his place inside the top-24 as Sunday approaches.

“6-under is a nice start to the week, I think it’s the kind of format where you don’t really want to be chasing.  If you can get out to a fast start, I think everybody’s just trying to make the top-24 for the final day,” said Westwood.

“I hit a lot of good putts today that just didn’t go in, so I’m just waiting for them to go in.”

Playing in the afternoon, Novocastrian James Nitties made a late charge for the lead reaching 7-under par before finishing 6-under 66 for his share of second place alongside Westwood.

He and the rest of the field playing in the afternoon had to contend with a wind that was proving difficult to read for many.

“It definitely wasn’t the Fremantle Doctor, the toughest thing about it was trying to pick which way the wind was going,” said Nitties.

“It wasn’t that it was gusty or strong, it was just you throw some grass up; it would hit you in the face and the next it would go downwind.  So I think that was the difficult part.”

Nitties came home with a wet sail with a bogey on his second last hole but made an impressive par save on the 9^th, his last hole.

“I never take driver over the last there, I was feeling good and things were kind of going my way, so I hit it out the left side in between the huge ‘devil trees’ I like to call them,” added Nitties.

“It was one of those shots where I had to take a backswing and know that I was going to get contact, and in that case sometimes you just don’t want to top it or whiff it and I just went down real hard after it, and yeah, it came up 20 metres short of the green and that is dead right there.

“So I hit it to 12 feet, made a good putt, I definitely didn’t want to finish bogey‑bogey, so a good par at the last sort of makes dinner taste a little better.”

Sitting one shot behind Westwood and Nitties is a group of nine players including; Jason Scrivener (AUS), Sebastien Gros (FRA), Prom Meesawat (THA), Daisuke Kataoka (KOR), Nicholas Fung (THA), Wade Ormsby (AUS), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (THA), Yi-keun Chang (KOR) and Gareth Paddison (NZL).

Round two begins at 6:40am local time with leader Brett Rumford teeing off the 1^st at 12:00pm.

For round one scores, visit pga.org.au.

For round two tee times, visit pga.org.au.

Victorian Lucas Herbert has made at least one new fan at the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth this week, Thai superstar Kiradech Aphibarnrat.

The pair played in the same group in the opening rounds of the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth and three-time European Tour Aphibarnrat was in awe of Herbert’s range off the tee around the Lake Karrinyup Country Club layout.

Aphibarnrat in his own right has admirable range and hit his fair share of long drives on Thursday but still highlighted Herbert as a standout.

“I just try to hit bombs, but you know, Lucas is one of the great players out of the Australian players, he hit it miles,” said Aphibarnrat who finished his round at 5-under 67 playing the course for the very first time on Thursday.

“So that’s why I force myself to hit as hard as I can, but I still can’t hit it as far as the kid. I can’t imagine when I was 22, he just bombed it.”

Herbert has enjoyed a purple patch of form over the last few weeks qualifying for his first major, The 147^th Open Championship and earning full playing rights on the PGA Tour-China through Qualifying School.

“He’s just such a great player, he’s got a bright future.  A lot of great players in the field and it was a really good experience playing with the kid.  I mean, when we were walking around, I was saying the last six years I think I can hit long as you, but now I believe you are strong.”

After flying in to Perth on Wednesday afternoon, Aphibarnrat’s preparation time was limited however it didn’t seem to bother his game as he played his way in to a tie for fourth position.

“I got a really decent start, five birdies in the first six holes, which surprised me a little bit,” added Aphibarnrat.

“I didn’t know the course. But I really enjoy it, the golf course is fantastic. Love kangaroos in the golf course, which in Asia we don’t have.

“I watched a lot of the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth last year, it’s great fun.  It gives a lot of opportunity to the player that just makes it inside the top-24 and can win the event.  I was excited when I knew that I was getting in this week.”

Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Lucas Herbert are currently on course.

Danny Willett is admittedly still on the road to recovery but says he’ll be fit enough to take on Lake Karrinyup Country Club for this week’s ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth.

The 2016 Masters Champion’s shoulder has presented a struggle but the Englishman said today he is starting to see improvements despite a lengthy break.

“I’m kind of three or four months behind where I should have been because I couldn’t hit any balls for 12 weeks,” said Willett.

“The shoulder was going really well, like I said, even to be able to play 36 holes in Dubai for the first time in four months was just nice to even be able to compete with no pain.”

He reached a significant milestone in his rehabilitation at last week’s Maybank Malaysian Open completing a complete round without relying on painkillers for his shoulder.

“Malaysia was the first time in five years I’ve not played on painkillers. So there’s a lot of positives going forward, so now it’s just a matter of time of getting game ready, getting sharp, and actually looking more at the golf now instead of the body.

“I’m just really looking forward to just playing. For me my main goals right now are to be pain free, to go back to the room every night,go to the gym and feel pretty good about where my body is.”

Following the good signs on his fitnees levels, Willett now turns his attention to this week’s ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth. While it’s not his first trip to Lake Karrinyup Country Club, he will be making his debut in the stroke play / match play hybrid.

“Obviously it’s a funky format, I watched it last year on TV and really thought it was good, it puts a different spin on golf,” added Willett.

“We play a lot of 72‑hole tournaments throughout the year and there’s a couple of match play events in there, but this obviously just throws it a little bit different in the mix there with the six holes and obviously the short pitch playoff hole as well.

“I think it was part the reason we’ve come down here, because of the format and because of where it is, and obviously where we’re at within our game to come and really enjoy what is a very different week.”

He said the two cuts made on Friday and Saturday open the door up for any number of Professionals in the field to put their hand up and make a charge for the title once Sunday gets underway.

“I don’t think experience is really going to play a part in a six‑hole match, I think it’s more about who’s playing good golf and who’s going to come out firing.

“You know, you could get a guy that’s competing in his first ever tournament, but if he reels off four birdies in a row, which everyone’s capable of doing, there’s nothing you can do.

“So I think that’s why the format is so intriguing, I think that’s why guys really enjoy it.”