PowerPlay Golf comes to Celtic Manor
Top golfers from both sides of the Atlantic have confirmed to participate in a three-hour PowerPlay golf tournament at the coveted Celtic Manor next month. Paul Casey, Ian Poulter and Colin Montgomerie will be featuring in the inauguration ceremony while
the crowd-puller, John Daly is also contemplating to come for the showdown.
The Ryder Cup European captain Montgomerie, and Casey will be at the Newport Resort today to unveil thel PowerPlay Golf series. Celtic Manor, after hosting one of the most successful Ryders Cup in the History, will be centre of attraction once again on May
30th, which is also a bank holiday.
Casey, who was overlooked in Ryder Cup by the European captain Montgomerie, will feature alongside him at the opening ceremony. Poulter will also be one of the high profile players at the tournament with his memorable heroics at the Ryder Cup last October.
He was one of the leading points scorer for the year alongside Englishman Luke Donald and has also won the 2003 Wales Open at the Celtic Manor.
But the events biggest attraction will be the long-hitter Daly, also known as “Long John”. Two times major winner, Daly comes with a long record of failed marriages, gambling and excessive drinking problems. He won the 1995 Open Championship at St. Andrews
and the 1991 USPGA Championship at Crooked Stick but he has not won a tournament since 2004, his last PGA Tour victory in San Diego.
Daly does not have a full playing status on the PGA Tour and relies mostly on invitations and lifetime playing qualifications on previous wins. Daly is also expected to extend his stay for the Wales Open in the first week of May.
Casey and Montgomerie are the first players who have signed up to participate in the Powerplay formats. The US Open is scheduled to start two weeks ahead of the tournament at the Congressional Golf Club and it will be testing times for Casey and Poulter
to put up with a tight playing schedule. Montgomerie is one of the staunch supporters of the new format and will make his PowerPlay debut in autumn.
“PowerPlay Golf is exactly what golf has been looking for. I am really looking forward to playing in some of the live TV events over the next few years and hope that PowerPlay Golf can play its part in generating more interest in our game and stimulating
more regular play from club golfers,” said the Scot.
The inaugural twenty-20 format of the sport will feature 12 players of both sexes and all ages. The three-hour tournament is played over nine holes with two flags on every green. The player will choose to go for either of the flags with the harder one bearing
more points.
The tournament is officially sponsored by the Convers Sports Initiatives (CSI) and the details regarding the televised broadcasting deals and the organizers decision to take the new format of the sport across the globe will also be unveiled at the ceremony.
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