The R&A and HSBC launch 9-Shot Challenge

The R&A and HSBC are giving budding golfers the chance to take on a 9-Shot Challenge at the iconic Royal St George’s during the week of The 149th Open for a chance to show off their golfing prowess and win bragging rights as well as a selection of top prizes.

For a chance to play the famous links course virtually, golfers need to visit a participating Topgolf venue or Toptracer Range location or play at home on the WGT app from 10-18 July.

After selecting the 9-Shot Challenge presented by The Open and HSBC, participants can opt-in to the Topgolf Sweepstakes and hit all 9 of their best approach shots on nine different virtual golf holes at Royal St George’s for their chance to win.

Royal St George’s has hosted The Open 14 times with many golfing legends gracing the famous links in Sandwich and golfers taking on the 9-Shot Challenge will need to channel the feats of past Champion Golfers there, including Darren Clarke, Sandy Lyle and Greg Norman, to get to the top of the leaderboard.

Players’ scores will be determined by the sum of their distances across all nine holes and will be logged on the overall leaderboard – but golfers will also need to have the accuracy required to navigate around the course, as shots that miss the virtual greens will be assigned penalty points. The lower the players score, the higher they will appear on the virtual leaderboard.

Taking place in the week of The 149th Open, players can take on the challenge as many times as they want. Following the deadline, one lucky grand prize winner (selected at random from eligible entries) will take home a pin flag from The 149th Open signed by this year’s Champion Golfer and a $150 prepaid card. Two other randomly selected players will also win $150 prepaid cards.

Phil Anderton, Executive Director – Chief Development Officer at The R&A said, “We know that many fans dream of being able to play on the famous links which host The Open every year and the 9-Shot Challenge presented by The Open and HSBC will offer a high-quality virtual experience in which competing golfers of all ages and abilities can test their skills over nine holes of Royal St George’s.

“We see this product as an exciting way to engage with new audiences and attract them into the sport by providing a fun experience that can be enjoyed by family and friends.

We know that many people enjoy consuming golf through the use of Topgolf and Toptracer Range locations and so we need to embrace these alternative forms of the sport as we look to grow the interest in playing golf. We look forward to seeing who emerges as the winning golfer next week.”

For more details on the 9-Shot Challenge, see the virtual leaderboard or find your nearest participating location, visit: toptracer.com/9shotchallenge/.