GOLF RETURNS TO TERRESTRIAL TV AT GLASGOW 2018

This week’s inaugural European Golf Team Championships at Gleneagles not only represents history with men and women playing together in a unique format for equal prize money – it also sees the return of live UK golf to free-to-air TV.

The Championships, which will comprise Men’s and Women’s Team events as well as a revolutionary Mixed Team format, will be screened live across the BBC network in addition to significant radio and online coverage

Fronted by Eilidh Barbour, the BBC’s golf coverage from Gleneagles will see live action across Friday, Saturday and Sunday with highlights from the first two days of play.

It also marks the return of golf to a multi-sports environment for the first time since the Rio Olympics in 2016 with the BBC also providing extensive coverage of the Glasgow 2018 European Championships, featuring aquatics, cycling, gymnastics, rowing and triathlon in addition to athletics from Berlin

Eilidh, who took over from Hazel Irvine as the BBC’s golf anchor in 2017, said: “There’s no better place for a team competition on British soil than to go back to the scene of Europe’s last Ryder Cup victory – the PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles.

“Coming from Perthshire, I’m thrilled that once again it will be playing host to a huge international event and pictures of its beauty will be beamed all over the continent.

“What sets golf apart from every other sport is that men and women of all ages and abilities can play and compete together and it’s great to see mixed gender golf taking place in such a huge international event. I look forward to seeing it unfold and hope it can be something that is developed further in the future.”

The European Championships will be broadcast across the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the umbrella body for European free-to-air channels, with a potential audience of 1.03 billion.*full details of broadcast intentions in notes to editors

Colin Hartley, Glasgow 2018 Championships Director said: “We are delighted that the inaugural European Golf Team Championships will be accessible via free-to –air television allowing many people to watch this exciting and innovative format.

“It will be an historic occasion when the men and women tee it up together at Gleneagles showcasing their skills which in turn will undoubtedly inspire the next generation of golfers watching across the BBC network.”

Mark Lichtenhein, Chairman of the Ladies European Tour, said: “As Europe’s only team sport, it is fantastic for golf to have been included in the inaugural European Championships. And the team format means that the players have the rare opportunity to represent their countries and compete for gold medals as part of a multi-sport platform.

“Playing alongside the other sports with live television and digital coverage across the entire continent of Europe, means that many people will be able to see the incredibly talented players and personalities that we have in European women’s golf for the first time. We await with anticipation to see who will be crowned the Champions of Europe.”

Players from 15 nations will compete for medals in the European Golf Team Championships across five days of competition from 8-12 August.

The Championships will feature a 50/50 gender split in the field with male and female professionals competing for equal prize money in both a Men’s and Women’s Team match play Championship, as well as an 18-hole foursomes stroke play Mixed Team Championship. *full details of format in notes to editors

Players will represent their countries with 16 teams of two players competing in the Men’s and Women’s Team events, before combining to form teams of four (two men and two women) in the Mixed Team Championship.

The full team lists for the Men’s and Women’s Team Championships are:

Confirmed team lists and pairing for the Mixed Team Championships are (NB – additional teams may be added): Mixed Team Championships

The European Golf Team Championships will form part of the Glasgow 2018 European Championships. To be staged every four years, the European Championships will combine the existing European Championships of Athletics, Aquatics, Cycling, Gymnastics, Rowing and Triathlon. The first edition is being held in 2018 in a unique sporting partnership between Host Cities Glasgow and Berlin.

The European Golf Team Championships is the only new event being staged as part of Glasgow 2018 and will take place at the famous Jack Nicklaus-designed Gleneagles PGA Centenary Course – the same venue that hosted Europe’s memorable victory over the USA in The 2014 Ryder Cup and will also host The 2019 Solheim Cup in September next year.

Tickets are now on sale for the European Golf Team Championships with adult prices from £10 for practice days and £15 on competition days. Children under the age of 16 are admitted free when accompanied by an adult.

As part of the inaugural European Championships in 2018 around 3,000 athletes will visit Scotland for six events (Aquatics, Cycling, Golf, Gymnastics, Rowing and Triathlon) while a further 1,500 athletes will compete in Berlin as part of the European Athletics Championships.

Please find below an update on the current open list of broadcasters who have already specifically announced their intention to show coverage of the golf competition on their TV and digital channels:

Belgium (RTBF), Denmark (DR), Estonia (ETV), Iceland (RUV), Spain (TVE), Sweden (SVT), Germany (ARD & ZDF), UK(BBC), Italy (RAI), Finland (YLE), Turkey (TRT), Switzerland (SSR).

Other channels may show coverage within their general plans.

EC 2018 Live Online Streaming: https://www.europeanchampionships.com or https://www.eurovisionsports.tv/EuropeanChamps18

With this coverage, no golf fans will miss any of the action on the above mentioned digital platforms.

FORMAT:
The tournament is a match play team event with each team comprised of two players.

The 16 teams will be seeded and split into 4 groups as follows based on the aggregate EGTC points total of the 2 team members.

Group Stages

Match Play: – Each team will play the other three teams in their group with each contest consisting of a four-ball match.

Points will be awarded for each team match as follows:

• Win – 2 points
• Halved match – 1 point
• Loss – zero points

(Note: Should a player from any one team be unable to participate in any group stage match for any reason or retire during a group stage match Rule 30-3(a) applies).

After the completion of all three group stage matches, the team with the highest number of points in each group will proceed to the Semi-Finals.

If, after all the matches have been played, two or more teams are tied on points, the following criteria will be used to determine the finishing order within the group:

1. Where two teams are tied within a group (in any position within the group) then their specific match result will be used to determine which team is placed higher in the group.
2. If two or more teams are still tied for first place within the group then those teams will compete in a four-ball “hole-by-hole” play-off.

iii.                  NB. The play-off criteria is only used to determine the first place within the group.  Therefore once this position is resolved there is no requirement to use a play-off (or to continue a play-off) to determine 2^nd, 3^rd or 4^th positions within a group, i.e. The scores in the play-off for those players finishing below 1^st place will be disregarded and then the specific match results will be used to determine the remaining positions in the group for those tied teams. If any matches between such tied teams were halved, then those teams will share the prize money for the respective tied positions in the group.

Knockout Stages:

The Semi-finals, Final and 3^rd place (Bronze medal) play-off will be played in foursomes match play over 18 holes. In the event that any match is all square after 18 holes a hole-by-hole play-off will take place in order to determine the winner of the match.

PRIZE MONEY (Euro):

Per Team                                          Per Player

1st €200,000 & Gold                          €100,000

2nd €100,000 & Silver                       €50,000

3rd €60,000 & Bronze                        €30,000

4th €30,000                                                €15,000

2nd in Group €15,000                        €7,500

3rd in Group €8,500                          €4,250

4th in Group €4,000                          €2,000

2018 European Golf Mixed Team Championships

Date: Saturday 11th August 2018
Field:  16 teams (maximum) of 4 players

Commitment:  An entry into the European Golf Team Championships commits each player to participation in the Mixed Team Championships.

ELIGIBILITY:
Only those players participating in the European Golf Team Championship will be eligible to play, (as per the above criteria).

NOTE:

• The number of teams from any one nation will be defined by the number of teams (both male and female) that are eligible and entered into the European Golf Team Championships. The first team of 4 for each nation will comprise the leading 2 ranked male professionals and the leading two ranked female professionals from the respective EGTC points tables.
• Where a nation has two or more eligible and entered male and female teams, the second team of 4 will comprise the next 2 highest ranked male professionals and the next two highest ranked female professionals from the respective EGCT points table. This pairing process will be repeated for any further eligible and entered male and female teams from that nation.

FORMAT:

1. a) The format is 18 holes mixed foursome stroke play with each team being made up of two mixed foursome pairings. Within each team of 4, the highest ranked male professional (in the EGTC Points table) will always be paired with the lower ranked female professional (in the EGTC Points table) and vice versa.
2. b) Teams will be drawn according to their combined EGTC points total with the highest ranked teams teeing off last.
3. c) Separate teeing grounds will be used for male professionals and female professionals.
4. d) The combined gross 18-hole scores of the two pairings in each team makes up that team’s score.
5. e) Ties for medal positions (and prizemoney) will be broken by a “hole-by-hole” mixed foursomes play-off.  Each tied team will be represented in the play-off by the pairing from that team with the lower score in the mixed competition.  If both pairings from the tied team had the same score then the team members/respective nation’s captain shall decide who shall represent them in the play-off.

PRIZE MONEY (Euro):

Per Team                                Per Player

1st €30,000 & Gold                  €7,500

2nd €20,000 & Silver               €5,000

3rd €14,000 & Bronze              €3,500

4th €10,000                                      €2,500

5th €6,400                               €1,600

6th €4,800                               €1,200

7th €3,600                               €900

8th €2,600                               €650

9th €1,600                               €400

10th – last place €1,000 (per team)   €250

To receive prize money, each team must complete 18 holes.

GLASGOW 2018 BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

1. The 2018 European Championships will be staged by the European Federations and the Host Cities of Glasgow and Berlin.

2. The Glasgow 2018 event will be held between 2nd and 12th August and the European Athletics Championships will be between 7th and 12th August in Berlin. Further information is available at www.glasgow2018.com.

3. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the umbrella body for Europe free-to-air channels, will be the broadcast partner for the Championships. There is a potential television audience of around 1.03 billion for the event with many more viewers across multiple digital platforms.

4. Around 3,000 athletes will travel to Scotland as part of a total delegation of around 8,500 including officials, media and others. A further 1,500 athletes will compete in Berlin.

5. Berlin’s Olympic Stadium will be the venue for the European Athletics Championships with the road races and race walking events held throughout the city.

6. The European Aquatics Championships will take place at Glasgow’s Tollcross International Swimming Centre, with Diving taking place at Edinburgh’s Royal Commonwealth Pool, Open Water Swimming being staged at Loch Lomond and Synchronised Swimming at Scotstoun Sports Campus.

7. Four European Cycling Championships will be staged in Glasgow and its metropolitan area. Track, Road, Mountain Bike and BMX will attract 650 of Europe’s top names to the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, the Cathkin Braes Mountain Bike Trails, the streets of Glasgow and the metropolitan area and a new world championship and Olympic standard BMX track to be built in the Knightswood area of the city.

8. The European Golf Team Championships will take place at the Gleneagles PGA Centenary Course in Perth & Kinross. There will be three European Team Golf Championships: Men’s Team Championship, Women’s Team Championship and Mixed Team Championship.

9. The European Artistic Gymnastics Men’s and Women’s Championships will be staged at The SSE Hydro, the venue for the 2015 FIG World Gymnastics Championships.

10. The European Championships for both Rowing and Triathlon will both be staged at Strathclyde Country Park in North Lanarkshire.

11. The Year of Young People 2018 will be the next of the Scottish Government’s series of themed years, following the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology 2017. The Year of Young People (YOYP) will inspire Scotland through its young people aged 8 to 26, celebrating their achievements, valuing their contributions to communities and creating new opportunities for them to shine locally, nationally and globally. Further information on what’s happening and how people can get involved can be found on the new website yoyp2018.scot or @YOYP2018 on Twitter.

12. Glasgow 2018’s official partner level sponsors are Glasgow City Council and Scottish Government. For more information on Glasgow 2018’s full sponsor family, please visit www.glasgow2018.com/championships/about-european-championships/official-sponsors

The Glasgow 2018 Team

Glasgow 2018 European Championships

Commonwealth House

32 Albion Street

Glasgow

G1 1LH

Scotland, UK

www.glasgow2018.com

Follow us @glasgow2018