July 2018 saw the return of The Hero Challenge 2018; the golf tournament with a twist and this October, Canary Wharf is to host the second edition of The Hero Challenge. The golfing challenge saw world champions battle it out in a quick fire shoot out, to be crowned the ultimate champion. Here at golfsupport.com we decided to investigate what exactly the Hero Challenge entails and recap on the first head-to-head during the Scottish Opens back in July.

The Hero Challenge was first launched in 2016 during the British Masters, by motorcycle giant Hero MotoCorp and managing director Pawan Munjal. The first ever tournament quickly became a hit as fans saw the French golfer Alex Levy come out on top. The huge success encouraged Hero MotoCorp to renew the challenge for a further three years, splitting it into three editions, with an idea to capitalise on the opportunity to encourage engagement in golf and especially from women.

In the summer of 2017, the idea of three editions was put into play, with the first commencing at the Scottish Open which saw American golfrt Patrick Reed take the title, shortly followed by the second edition which was held back at the British Masters, in which English pro-golfer Lee Westwood was crowned champion. The third and final edition took place in Dubai during the DP World Tour with China’s Haotong Li the last man standing.

So, what is The Hero Challenge?

Essentially it is a very short, very fast round of golf in a shoot-out battle style, which could be compared to a round of penalties in football. A group of championship golfers are invited to take part in this fast-paced tournament to see who will be named champion. The challenge has several one-on-one rounds, where the winner of each will move forward to the semi-finals. After the two semi-final shoot-outs, the winners of each will progress to the final, with the man who puts the last golf ball the winner. The tournament itself is an hour long, which is a fraction in comparison to the average game of golf which is at least four to five hours long. The Hero Challenge was instigated with the intention of appealing to new audiences, through shorter formats of speedy entertainment such as the six-hole golf format trialled last year.

In the two short years since the Hero Challenge was launched, it has proven to be a huge success and has managed to gain a huge traction amongst golf fans, as well as reaching to audiences less familiar with the sport. When the Scottish Open took place in July, as did the first edition of this year’s Hero Challenge, which kicked off at Edinburgh Castle. The purpose-built arena drew in large crowds of spectators eagerly anticipating who would take home the title. The lineup was one to beat, with American golfer Charley Hoffman, Scottish favourite Richie Ramsay, Englishman Ian Poulter, Spanish golfer Rafa Cabrera Bello and Indian champ Shubhankar Sharma. But ultimately the challenge saw Pro Matt Kucher as the one to beat.

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It has recently been announced that Canary Wharf will be the location of this year’s second edition of The Hero Challenge, which will take place Tuesday 9th October during Sky Sport’s British Masters. English Pro-golfer Justin Rose will be hosting the British Masters at Walton Heath golf club in Surrey, as well as the highly anticipated Hero Challenge. Despite the all-star lineup remaining a mystery, it has been revealed that the players will be shooting from a floating tee into a constructed green which will be surrounded by London’s tallest buildings.

Much like the show-down at Edinburgh Castle, the event will be broadcast live across the globe, as well as giving fans the chance to apply for FREE tickets to witness all the excitement in person. It is expected to have an even larger turn-out due to its central London location, and with the third edition set to be held in Dubai, during the DP World Tour in November, it may be the last chance for fans to exercise their excitement for golf this year.

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