Rob Lee says tomorrow night’s Hero Challenge at the British Masters has an important role to play in attracting new fans to the sport.

The Grove will play host to the free to attend one-hole knockout challenge, which sees eight of the European Tour’s top players face off in seven matches, between 7.30pm and 8.30pm.

The competition will be aired live on Sky Sports and Lee, who is hosting the event, feels the shortened format will add an extra dimension to the tournament.

“I think these things are important and are becoming more important. You have to make it more than just a golf tournament and give people a reason to come out,” Lee said.

“There is going to be music, drinks and the whole thing will take place under floodlights so it will create a party atmosphere.

“It is a way of having a different form of competition, which won’t necessarily be as satisfying as watching all four days of competition, but could be really fun.”

A star studded list of competitors including Luke Donald, Andy Sullivan, Danny Willett and Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston should ensure the event is played in a competitive spirit.

It is expected to take under an hour to complete the contest and tournament operations director Rory Colville is eager for the format to be a success.

“It is a new format that we are trialling and we are really keen to push these new formats at the European Tour,” he said.

“We are looking at all sorts of short formats of the game which goes hand in hand with trying to get new fans to come to golf tournaments.

“These new, fun and quick ways of playing golf encourage a really positive atmosphere and attracts fans, which is what we are trying to do on the European Tour.”

In keeping with these efforts to bring shorter formats of golf to the European Tour, Wednesday sees the return of the ISPS Handa Pressure Putt Showdown.

The event made its first appearance at the BMW Championship and will see professionals Lee Westwood, Joost Luiten and Padraig Harrington take on celebrities including Kevin Pietersen and former Watford boss Gianfranco Zola.

Four teams consisting of one professional and one celebrity will take turns putting in a Match Play format with teams being eliminated when both players miss.

The final two teams will then face off in a speed putting challenge to decide the winner of the event, which will be televised on Sky Sports at 3pm.

Money raised from the Pressure Putt Showdown will go to ISPS Handa’s selected charity and official event charity The Golf Foundation.

With both Lee and Colville championing fan interaction, the return of Sky Sports Thursday to the British Masters is another plus for the competition.

The scheme allows 20,000 Sky Sports customers to take advantage of free tickets to the opening day of play at The Grove.

Lee insists fans are the central factor in any successful tournament and hopes the chance to see top level golf free of charge will encourage return customers.

“What makes a tournament when you watch on television is people. If you have the best players in the world here and no one is walking down the fairways it doesn’t look very good,” explained Lee.

“It is a great initiative and the full allocation went very quickly. Give the fans a free day, and hopefully, if you invest in them on the first day, they will invest back in you and come down for two or three more days.”