Monday 17 October 2016 17:39, UK
European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley has led the chorus of approval for another successful staging of the British Masters supported by Sky Sports.
The week at The Grove again attracted a high-quality field and resulted in Alex Noren becoming the first player to win three Tour titles this season, the Swede holding his nerve down the stretch to clinch a two-shot victory.
The condition of the course, particularly the quality of the greens, earned plaudits from the field, while the innovations for the tournament and the coverage won universal praise.
Tuesday night's inaugural Hero Challenge, a one-hole knockout competition under floodlights featuring eight professionals and four celebrities, enjoyed remarkable success and drew a bumper crowd despite the chilly conditions.
The week also featured the ISPS Handa Pressure Putt Challenge, a star-studded pro-am broadcast live on Sky Sports, and the Hero Masterclasses after each of the first three rounds again drew widespread praise from fans and viewers.
In addition, Tim Barter gained insight from the players with his mid-round interviews during the tournament, a television first for a European Tour stroke play event.
"It's a real honour to be back with the British Masters and with Sky involved and what you have done is nothing short of spectacular with your innovation," Pelley told Sarah Stirk at the Sky Cart on Sunday.
"The Hero Challenge is one of the things we are trying. Everything we try from innovation, everything from an experimental perspective, we will get better. But it was an excellent first start.
"All the new initiatives are imperative and if you stand still you are going to fall behind. We know there will always be the 72-hole tournament as that is part of the history and tradition and we don't want to disturb that but at the same time we want to add some flair, we want to add more entertainment to the sport.
"These guys are incredibly skilled and we want to showcase that as much as possible and we want to showcase it to a younger audience so we will do more events like the Hero Challenge and more events under the lights."
