Five things to know ahead of the inaugural Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Showdown
Staying in Cyprus
Last week, the European Tour marked a significant milestone in its 48-year history as Cyprus became the 50th country to host an official European Tour event.
This week, Aphrodite Hills will host for a second consecutive week, this time for the inaugural Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Showdown.
Innovative format
The Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Showdown will feature a brand new format on the European Tour this week.
The first 36 holes will be played as a stroke play event, and the cut will then be made to the leading 32 players and ties.
The scores will be reset to zero for the third round, and another cut will reduce the field to the top 16 players and ties. Scores will also be reset for the final round ‘shoot-out’, meaning the winner will be determined by who shoots the lowest round on Sunday.
- 36 holes stroke play followed by a cut to the leading 32 players and ties.
- For those making this cut, all scores will be reset to zero and there will be a 3rd round “shoot-out”.
- Based on the scores from the “shoot-out” only, the leading 16 players and ties will qualify for a final round “shoot-out”.
- All scores will again be reset to zero with the winner of the event being determined by the lowest score of the final round “shoot-out”.
Same course, minimal changes
Aphrodite Hills made its debut on the European Tour last week to positive acclaim and will experience only minimal changes to five of the tee boxes throughout the week.
The only permanent change throughout the week will be to the 17th, where a more forward tee will be used from Thursday to Sunday.
Elsewhere, the 13th tee will be moved forward for Thursday and Friday, while the 18th will alternate between two tees for the week.
For the final two days of competition, the dramatic par three seventh hole will use it’s back tee for the final two days of competition, while the eighth tee will be moved forward for the first time.
Inside the field
A large majority of the field who took part in last week’s Cyprus Open will hold something of an advantage as they play Aphrodite Hills for a second consecutive week – including every player from last week’s top 10. Of that number, seven are still seeking their first win, including Thomas Detry and David Drysdale.
With the format rewarding the players who go low, it’s hard to argue against looking at either last week’s champion Callum Shinkwin, or Finland’s Kalle Samooja. Shinkwin eagled the 72nd hole to post the lowest round of the week (a 63), while Samooja carded back-to-back rounds of 64 at the weekend. Other players to record a 64 included Jason Scrivener, Matthew Southgate, Wilco Nienaber, Mitch Waite and Johannes Veerman – who went bogey free for the first three rounds.
It also seemed to be a course suited to left-handers Robert MacIntyre and Garrick Higgo. Both players finished inside the top five last week, and each posting a 65, 66, 67 and 68 throughout the week.
Rasmus Højgaard, who currently sits at 10th place in the Race to Dubai and is already a two-time winner on Tour during his rookie season, will also make his first start in Cyprus this week.
The legend of Aphrodite Hills
The resort and its surrounding area holds several connections to both ancient mythology and history, and was built in the vicinity of three important archaeological sites – the Rantidi Forest, the plateau of Hadjiabdoulla, and the man-made mount of Laona.
With reference to the Greek Goddess of Love, Aphrodite Hills is aptly named after the actual Aphrodite’s Hill in Ancient mythology. It’s unique location in Kouklia overlooks her birthplace (where she emerged from the sea), and Rantidi Forest (where the resort is located) is where Aphrodite would spend most of her time hunting with the eternally youthful Adonis, who was the deity of plans and rebirth. When the site was excavated, thousands of terracotta statue fragments were recovered, as well as more than 200 inscriptions, all of which reflect the legend of Adonis and Aphrodite.
