BRANSFORD Golf Club, near Worcester, hosted the inaugural qualifying competition in Europe’s first professional golf tournament featuring PowerPlay Golf — the revolutionary new nine-hole ‘two flags on every green’ format of the game.

Dozens of PGA Professional golfers from across the Midlands battled it out for a place in the national final of the PGA PowerPlay Golf Championship, which carries a £34,000 prize fund.

Described by many as golf’s answer to Twenty20 Cricket, PowerPlay Golf was developed in response to calls for worldwide change in golf.

PowerPlay Golf uses two flags on each green, which creates an exciting competitive golf event in half the normal time of a round.

The Bransford GC event was won by Cardiff Golf Club professional Adam Constable, who was rewarded for his risk-taking approach.

The Welshman took full advantage of the two-flag risk-and-reward format to leap from third to first in the final six-man shoot-out and land the top pay-out.

Constable, who had four points going into the shootout, two points behind the leader, took on the riskier PowerPlay flag, which he needed to birdie or better to secure double the usual stableford points.

His main rivals, Neil Rowlands (6pts) and Jon Bevitt (5pts), opted for the easier flag having seen the three hopefuls lower down the top six fail in their bid at the riskier black flag.

But Constable landed his second shot five feet from the hole and holed out to score six points and take his overall tally to 10, while Rowlands and Bevitt could only par the easier hole, adding two extra points to their tally.

Following his victory, the two-time Welsh Open Young PGA Professional Champion, hailed the new format.

“I hope it takes off, it’s a very enjoyable format and something a little bit different that we’re not used to, but I know the spectators will enjoy it,” he said.

“It puts a lot more pressure on yourself when you pick your PowerPlay because you know you have to make birdie to make it count. You have to think your way around and pick holes which to attack on.

“Most people take on the par fives because they know they can reach in two. I birdied the two par fives, which got me into the shoot-out.”

Prior to the shoot-out, 18 players from the morning stableford qualified for the £25,000 final at Frilford Heath on October 17.