Indian motorcycle manufacturer Hero MotorCorp has extended its backing of the European Tour’s night golf concept by a further three years, with the venture to feature at two new locations in 2017.
The Hero Challenge, which pits European Tour players against one another in a sudden-death shoot-out format, debuted at last year’s British Masters tournament.
With Hero’s backing, the initiative will be showcased at the British Masters again this year, and will also feature at the Scottish Open and DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
Pawan Munjal, chairman, managing director and chief executive of Hero MotorCorp, said: “We all recognise that golf needs a lot more of innovation to attract a younger and newer generation of fans and the Hero Challenge is an initiative in that direction. As a partner of the European Tour, we introduced the ‘Hero Challenge’ at the British Masters last year, which proved to be an immense success. That success has encouraged us to extend and expand our partnership with the European Tour by another three years to multiple events.”
European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley added: “We firmly believe in the direction we are taking and it is clear that Hero share that belief. The inaugural Hero Challenge was a terrific success at the British Masters last year and led the way in terms of innovative concepts for ourselves at the European Tour.
“We very much look forward to three Hero Challenges this year which will greatly enhance three already special weeks on our schedule and I am sure that the golf fans in Scotland, England and Dubai will thoroughly enjoy watching their favourite stars in action in this exciting format.”
France’s Alex Levy overcame Sweden’s Alex Noren in the final of last year’s Hero Challenge to win the inaugural edition of the event.
This year's British Masters takes place from September 28 to October 1 and will be preceded by the Scottish Open, which runs from July 12-16. The 2017 DP World Tour Championship will take place from November 16-19.