Noren embraces quirky Perth golf event

World No.11 Alex Noren will be the highest-ranked player at the inaugural World Super 6 golf event, and he's feeling the pressure.

Sweden's Alex Noren

World No.11 Alex Noren will be the highest-ranked player at the inaugural World Super 6 golf event. (AAP)

World No.11 Alex Noren believes Perth's World Super 6 tournament could help revolutionise golf, saying it's important to experiment with new formats in a bid to attract new supporters to the sport.

The Super 6 golf event at Lake Karrinyup will feature 54 holes of traditional stroke play across the first three days, before switching to a knockout match play format in the final round.

The leading 24 players will feature in the knockout match play, which is contested over six holes.

If there's a tie after the six-hole match play, the competing players will go head-to-head in a purpose-built, 90m playoff hole.

The winner of the shootout hole will progress through to the next round of match play. Or if it's the final, the winner of the shootout hole will win the title.

Tournament organisers originally planned for any ties on the shootout hole to be decided by a closest-to-the-pin contest.

But those plans were scrapped in order for the tri-sanctioned tournament to still be eligible for world ranking points.

Noren, a winner of eight events on the European Tour, predicted the revolutionary tournament could eventually lead to other events introducing similar concepts.

"It's nice that we're trying new things, and I think it's going to be nice for the crowds and the TV viewers," Noren said on Tuesday.

"I think anything where the crowd experiences new ways for us pros to play the game is good. I love watching X Games on TV."

Noren also wants golf tournaments to create a more fun and relaxed atmosphere for fans.

The 34-year-old can't help but cringe when he hears spectators being told off for talking while a player is setting up for a shot.

Noren doesn't want crowd noise to get to a level where it becomes too much of a party atmosphere.

But he's urging players, caddies, and tournament organisers to allow more leeway when it comes to crowd noises.

"The old attitude of golf is it should be perfectly quiet when a player plays," Noren said.

"I've experienced a lot of times when us players or caddies are quietening down people, and they don't understand why.

"I'd like it to be more relaxed. It's not going to hurt us if someone talks, or a baby cries. We can hit it anyway."

Noren said he was feeling the pressure of being the highest-ranked player at the World Super 6 event.

British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen, 2016 US amateur winner Curtis Luck, and former Perth International winner Thorbjorn Olesen are among the other drawcards.

The World Super 6 is sanctioned by the European Tour, Asian Tour, and PGA Tour of Australasia.


Share

3 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world