The stakes have never been higher for Geoff Ogilvy, Marcus Fraser and Brendon Goddard than what they’ll face at this week’s inaugural Gippsland Super 6 tournament.
Friendly midweek rounds are commonplace for the trio but when they grace the fairways of Yallourn Golf Club from November 7-10 the level of competition will be taken to new heights. Joining the field of an ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia tournament for the first time, Goddard will face the big time alongside two of Australia’s top golf exports.
“It’s pretty casual but it’s very competitive,” Ogilvy said of their midweek jaunts. “Obviously Frase and I have played golf for a very long time competitively but BJ (Goddard) is probably more competitive than all of us. He takes it very seriously.”
Goddard, a former AFL player for the St Kilda and Essendon football clubs, is well accustomed to playing sport at the highest level but insists this will be unlike anything he has done before.
“I’m hoping not to embarrass myself but also hoping deep down that I make the weekend or if I beat one of these two blokes I’ll be pretty happy as well,” Goddard said.
The innovative tournament format will see a field of up to 126 PGA professionals and amateurs compete across three rounds of regular strokeplay, as they endeavour to qualify for a dramatic fourth and final round. The top 24 players will then compete across a six-hole medal (stroke) matchplay shootout to determine a champion on the final day.
Providing an exciting point of difference for players and spectators alike, Fraser hopes the Super 6 format will entice the Gippsland and Yallourn locals to support Australia’s golf talent.
“It’s huge for the Gippsland area. Hopefully all of the locals get out there and around the tournament,” Fraser said.
Goddard, a Gippsland local originally from Glengarry, believes the tournament will be of great benefit to the community.
“It’s great that the PGA saw an opportunity there and has given it to Gippsland and the town of Yallourn,” Goddard said. “If you’re in the area I encourage you to get down there because it’s not every day that you get to see golfers as up close as what you can at Yallourn and walk the fairways and be literally a couple of meters from these guys playing golf.”
Australia’s 2006 US Open winner, Ogilvy hopes the matchplay format will be to his advantage if he is able to make it to the top 24.
“It’s a pretty cool concept but matchplay is a tough format. Across six holes, everyone’s in a small little loop,” Ogilvy said. “You get lots of action and lots of matches in a day. I love matchplay so hopefully over six holes I do alright.”
In order to have his name engraved as the first on the Gippsland Super 6 trophy, Ogilvy will need to overcome an in-form Fraser, who recorded a runner-up finish at last month’s Victorian PGA Championship.
A number of Australians competing overseas will venture home for the tournament, including three-time China Tour winner Maverick Antcliff and PGA Tour commentator Ewan Porter, while recent victors Campbell Rawson and Darren Beck will also feature.
The winner of the Gippsland Super 6 will also receive World Golf Ranking Points and full exemption onto the PGA Tour of Australasia until the end of the 2020 season, including a place in the field at the 2019 Australian PGA Championship.
