By Rahul Banerji
One half of the Ryder Cup Moliwood bromance, Tommy Fleetwood, will headline the upcoming Hero Challenge in Liverpool alongside Indian Open champion, Stephen Gallacher, on May 7 ahead of the Betfred British Masters, which Fleetwood will host.
They will be joined by Charley Hull for an action-packed evening of golf at the Liverpool Waters’ Princes Dock as Hull becomes the first woman to appear in the Hero Challenge.
Three more players will complete the line-up as they go head to head in the innovative shoot-out event in Princes Dock, on Liverpool’s historic World Heritage Site waterfront.
Solid win
Scotsman Gallacher birdied three of his last four holes to produce a stunning comeback and win his first European Tour title in five years at the Hero Indian Open in March.
Like Fleetwood, the Scotsman has represented Europe in the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles. He’s also a passionate supporter of junior golf, through the Stephen Gallacher Foundation.
He said: “The Hero Challenge seems like a great way of bringing golf to new fans and hopefully getting more young players excited about the game.
Path-breaker
Hull has three professional victories worldwide and is a three-time Solheim Cup player. She broke new ground along with Georgia Hall as the first England women’s team to play on the European Tour in last season’s GolfSixes. She is looking forward to playing in another innovative golf event.
She said: “I think the Hero Challenge is a great idea to help bring golf to new fans. I really enjoyed playing against the men at GolfSixes and it will be a lot of fun to play in another innovative event. Teeing off in the centre of a city will definitely be something new for me and I can’t wait to give it a go.”
In good company
Fleetwood follows countrymen Ian Poulter, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Justin Rose as host of the British Masters in his native Merseyside. Fleetwood, who contributed four points to Europe’s remarkable 17½-10½ Ryder Cup triumph at Le Golf National last September, will make his second Hero Challenge appearance.
Flreetwood said: “It’s an honour to host the British Masters in my home town, and I’m excited to start off the week by bringing golf right into the heart of Liverpool with the Hero Challenge.”
The Challenge will be shown live across the European Tour’s digital platforms. The Betfred British Masters is at the Hillside Golf Club, part of the stretch of terrain recognised as England’s Golf Coast, from May 9 to 12.
Past winners of the Hero Challenge include 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed of the United States, Swedish major winner Henrik Stenson, and former world number 1 Lee Westwood.
Popular event
European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley, said: “The Hero Challenge has proven to be incredibly popular with players and spectators and has continued to grow apace since the first edition in 2016.
“We started off at some of the most spectacular golf courses on the European Tour and it has been a lot of fun to see the event continue to evolve in such globally recognised and diverse locations as London’s Canary Wharf and Edinburgh Castle.
“I know that the upcoming edition on the stunning Princes Dock will tee off another fantastic season of the Hero Challenge. The event wouldn’t be possible without the vision and support of Pawan Munjal and Hero MotoCorp, who we thank, as ever, for their continued support.”
Lahiri misses out again
At Hilton Head, Anirban Lahiri exited early after a three week break that included the Masters week, at the RBC Heritage with opening rounds of 72 and 74 to miss the cut, which fell at even par at Harbour Town Links.
Irishman Shane Lowry returned on Saturday morning to complete his last two holes of the second round to keep his overnight lead.
Lowry added a 68 to his first round 65 and was 8-under, one shot clear of Trey Mullinax (66-68). Dustin Johnson (68-67), Emiliano Grillo (68-67) and Daniel Berger (66-69) were tied third at seven-under.
Second round play was pushed to the third morning as weather forced a suspension of play on Friday.
Lahiri hit eight of 18 greens in regulation during his second round. His second round three-over 74 meant he finished at 4-over for the tournament and in shared 100thplace.
Also read: Gallacher survives heat, quadruple bogey to walk away the winner
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