Paul McGinley takes Zone Golf shoot out honours

Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley this week secured the Zone Golf Champion title  with celebrity partner Jamie Redknapp at Dukes Meadows, Surrey.

It was Zone Golf’s World Launch at the Zone Golf Charity Shoot Out and the dynamic duobeat Ian Poulter and five-time Olympic Gold Medallist Sir Steve Redgrave in the final, which saw nearly 2,000 fans descend upon the par-3 course.

McGinley, who walked away with £100,000 for his nominated charity, the Tour Players Foundation, said: “It’s been a wonderful day, we couldn’t have asked for more. The crowds have come out, the sun has been shining and I’ve won a lot of money for the Tour Players Foundation.

“I think it’s an excellent concept and one I can definitely see becoming a new generation of golf. It’s fun, fast paced and brings a do or die element to the game. All the guys who have taken part today have been wonderful and I can’t wait to come back and defend my title with Jamie next year!”

Former footballing superstar Redknapp added: “I think I got the pick of the day, Paul was on fire, there was no stopping him and I felt I couldn’t let him down. We’ve had an amazing time and I can’t wait to play Zone Golf again – we will be back to defend our title next year!”

Team-mates Tim Henman and Justin Rose finished in third place, while Paul Lawrie and Andrew Strauss took fourth spot. Poulter, Rose and Lawrie still walked away triumphant as they secured £50,000 for each of their chosen charities.

European Tour Winner, Dukes Meadows Golf Coach and Zone Golf Director, Van Phillips said: “I couldn’t be happier with our first ever Zone Golf event. We are so thankful to the guys for taking part in our world premier and I hope the world will now get to see what an exciting concept we have – on to the next!”

The event is scheduled to be shown on Sky Sports 2 on June 4 at 8pm and Sky Sports 3 June 5 at 9pm.

How it works: Zone Golf is a colourful, Par 3 game, with a twist, which is set to revolutionise golf and be the sport’s version of 20/20 cricket.

The game is played over 9 holes, which through its fast-paced strategic nature, offers an extremely exciting alternative to ‘normal’ golf. Each Par 3 green is divided into three coloured “zones” with a hole and flag in each zone (green-easy, amber-medium, red-hard).

Each player/team must nominate a zone on the tee and subsequently hit that zone to acquire the relevant points (green-3, amber-6 and red-9). Additional points are available for Bogey-1, Par-2, Birdie-3, Hole in One.  Spectator and player excitement is rocketed by the introduction of a “do or die” situation on every tee.

The player/team with the most points after nine holes wins.

*More information can be found at: www.zonegolfthegame.com