After being dormant since 2008, the British Masters returned to the European Tour schedule with much fanfare in 2015 when Sky Sports added their name to the event.
Ahead of the relaunch, organisers revealed that a quartet of England’s great Ryder Cup stars would rotate as the tournament host.
Ian Poulter was first to assume hosting duties at Woburn, Luke Donald stepped forward at The Grove while Lee Westwood got the gig for Close House last year.
This year the tournament returns to the south of England and one of the classic courses, Walton Heath. Your host? It’s the one and only Justin Rose. He’s the betting favorite too.
Also on show at the iconic Surrey venue is golf’s hottest new double act, ‘Moliwood’, while joining Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood is another of Europe’s Paris heroes, Thorbjorn Olesen.
The Course
The Old Course at Walton Heath is one of the classic inland UK layouts and staged the 1981 Ryder Cup. The heathland track, once described by Jack Nicklaus as “wonderfully pure”, was designed by Herbert Fowler and can stretch to 7,406 yards although it’s listed a fraction under at 7,394 on the official European Tour website. The opening stretch is particularly tough and the heather-lined fairways punish errant drives while the bunkers are deep and penal so no indiscriminate bombing here. The middle third offers good scoring opportunities before a tough finish. The fast greens are large with subtle slopes while the springy turf offers bump and run options so there’s a links element here too. The par 72 features three par 5s and three par 3s.
Walton Heath is also the regular host course for 36-hole US Open International Sectional qualifying so it’s worth noting who came through and has recent happy memories. Note that they play 18 holes at the Old and 18 at the New.
2018 James Morrison, Andrew Johnston, Matthew Southgate, Richie Ramsay, Scott Gregory, Ryan Fox, Matt Wallace, Tom Lewis, Matthieu Pavon, Dean Burmester, Jason Scrivener, Thorbjorn Olesen, Kristoffer Reitan, Paul Waring.
2017 Aaron Rai, Hao Tong Li, Alexander Levy, Richie Ramsay, Joel Stalter, Oliver Bekker, Eddie Pepperell, Bradley Dredge, George Coetzee, Brandon Stone, Andrew Johnston, Thomas Aiken, Paul Dunne, Matt Wallace, Wade Ormsby.
2016 Gregory Bourdy, Mikael Lundberg, Lee Slattery, Gary Stal, Romain Wattel, Alex Noren, Matthew Baldwin, Andrew Johnston, Matteo Manassero, Peter Hanson, Maximilian Kieffer, Soren Hansen, Sebastian Soderberg.
Well, ‘Beef’ certainly likes it! That’s three straight years Johnston has gone to Walton Heath and punched his U.S. Open ticket.
British Masters recent results – top five and ties
2017 (Close House) Paul Dunne, Rory McIlroy, Robert Karlsson, David Lingmerth, Florian Fritsch, Graeme Storm
2016 (The Grove) Alex Noren, Bernd Wiesberger, Lee Westwood, Peter Hanson, Tommy Fleetwood, Graeme McDowell, Alexander Levy, Richard Bland
2015 (Woburn) Matt Fitzpatrick, Soren Kjeldsen, Shane Lowry, Fabrizio Zanotti, Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Luke Donald, Marcus Fraser
Performance of host
2017 Lee Westwood T15
2016 Luke Donald MC
2015 Ian Poulter T33
Weather
We have rain in the forecast on both Thursday and Saturday although temps will be warmer than they were in Scotland last week. Not by lots though (mid 60s dropping to 61 on Sunday) and it could be quite windy during the first two rounds.
The Leading Contenders
Last December, when Rose was revealed as host, he said: “Walton Heath is a golf course I really, really enjoy playing, in fact I love it. I went back to Walton Heath in the summer just to ensure I wanted to take the tournament there and I had forgotten how good a golf course it is. It has got teeth but it is traditional and hopefully the players will really enjoy it.” The Englishman had two wins and two defeats at the Ryder Cup and before that had scooped the $10m FedExCup jackpot after finishing 2-2-4 in the final three events. The only doubt would be that previous hosts have slightly struggled to piece it together for all four rounds but Rose could easily break the mould in his current form.
These are extraordinary times for the Italian, who followed up his superb Open victory by winning an unheard of five points out of five at the Ryder Cup. And if he wanted things to get even better, this year’s British Masters just happens to be on Molinari’s Surrey doorstep. His incredible 2018 also includes a victory at Wentworth in this year’s BMW PGA Championship (runner-up there in 2017) so, with Rose slightly sidetracked by hosting duties, Molinari is perhaps the one they all have to beat.
After his week to remember at the Ryder Cup, Fleetwood rode that high to take second place in last week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. It means that starting with The Open in July he’s finished outside the top 25 in just one of his last nine starts. He’s finished T4 and T13 in his last two appearances in this event but couldn’t make it last year due to the birth of son Frankie. A fan of Walton Heath, Fleetwood should be expected to shine again.
After spanking Jordan Spieth in the Ryder Cup singles, Olesen opted so recharge the batteries rather than head to Scotland to try and win the Alfred Dunhill Links for a second time. That could be a smart move. The in-form London-based Dane will be able to sleep in his own bed this week and he came through qualifying at Walton Heath in 2016 to reach the U.S. Open so has plenty of positive vibes floating around him.
Matt Fitzpatrick
The Englishman scored a home win in this event at Woburn in 2015 and took T11 at Close House last year. He’s added to his reputation of playing well in front of local fans with T8 in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth back in May. A questionable links record suggested it was no great surprise he missed the cut in Scotland last week but let’s remember that a couple of weeks before the Ryder Cup the straight hitter had landed the European Masters in Switzerland. Walton Heath? He’s hard oozing confidence. “My experiences of Walton Heath have been a mixed bag, I wouldn’t say I have too much good form around there, apart from a good practice round once!”
The Irishman will be happy to see the tournament head to Walton Heath as he led U.S. Open qualifying here in 2014, shooting 69-67. Owner of a great record on English soil, he’s had six top 15s at Wentworth and in this event was runner-up at Woburn in 2015 and T7 at Close House last year. He didn’t make the cut in Scotland last week but prior to that was T6 in Portugal while August saw him post T12 at the PGA Championship.
After seven top tens in his previous 13 starts, the Dane struck a blow for #Currentform over #Courseform when shaking off three previous missed cuts to catch a tiring Tyrrell Hatton and capture the prestigious Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland. The victory moved him into the top ten on the Race to Dubai. Adding to his appeal here is tied third at Wentworth earlier this year, T8 in this event at Close House in 2017 after connecting four 67s and successful U.S. Open qualifications at Walton Heath in 2014 and 2015 (T5).
The local man shot 67-66 at Walton Heath to qualify in tied fifth place at the U.S. Open regional qualifier in 2017 and also made it through here in 2013 so clearly enjoys this venue. He didn’t have his best stuff in Scotland last week (T44) but prior to that had posted two second places and three further top tens in a hot run from July to September. British Masters form of 33-22-MC.
The 2011 Masters champ has two recent top tens on the European Tour – T9 at the European Open in Germany and T8 at the European Masters in Switzerland – and let’s not forget that he was runner-up at Sawgrass earlier this year. He’s not played much golf in England recently and this is his tournament debut but T7 in the 2014 Open at Hoylake was a good effort and, at his best, he’d be a strong title contender this week.
A three-time winner in 2018, Wallace shared the first-round lead at the Alfred Dunhill Links before fading to T28 at the finish. The latest of his victories came in Denmark last month so confidence remains high and he’s got some impressive Walton Heath form too. The Englishman qualified for the U.S. Open in T7 this year and in T12 in 2017, shooting a combined 16-under over those four rounds at the Surrey venue.
The Next Rung
On links turf that he knows and loves, Wood flopped in Scotland last week, missing the 54-hole cut after failing to recover from an opening 76 when the winds were up. He likes inland courses too though and his career highlight was victory in the 2016 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. He’s also been a solid performer in this event with form of 9-22-26 and is a three-time runner-up on the European Tour this year.
Sullivan is building momentum again after ending a run of four top 10s in five starts with a trio of missed cuts over the summer. Since September he’s shown progressive form of 30-28-20-10, the latter coming in last week’s Alfred Dunhill. He’s 3-for-3 in this event (46-41-44) although has no recent competitive form at Walton Heath.
Another of the home contingent and he’s local too. However, Fisher has twice failed to make it through U.S. Open qualifying here in recent years although he was only two shots too high in 2015. T8 at Wentworth on his last start in England back in May, he hasn’t had a top ten since then although middle rounds of 68-66 at the Alfred Dunhill last week (T32, 8th for GIR) hinted at an upturn.
At a time when Ryder Cup vice-captaincy might have signalled a change in priorities, Harrington has suddenly turned himself into one of the European Tour’s in-form players again. His last four starts at this level show a second, a fifth and a seventh (last week’s Alfred Dunhill) and surely his Le Golf National experience also put an extra pep in his step. One negative to note is that he’s had a series of recent U.S. Open qualifying failures at Walton Heath over the last few years although several times he’s missed out narrowly.
Westwood did pretty well (T15) when hosting at Close House last time and that added to T17 at Woburn and third at The Grove. Add in performances at Wentworth and The Open and he’s finished T27 or better in his last seven starts on home English soil. A runner-up at the Made In Denmark recently and T12 in Switzerland, he’s another of the Euro Ryder Cup vice-captains showing he’s still got it as a player.
The World No. 54 has bounced back to form nicely since pulling out of PGA Championship with a wrist injury, following T24 (KLM) and T27 (Portugal) with a top five finish in last week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship after a closing 66 at St. Andrews. Third on English soil at the 2017 Open, he opened with three rounds in the 60s on his British Masters debut last year before fading. Notably, he finished second in U.S. Open qualifying at Walton Heath last year after rounds of 67-64.
It’s all going perfectly for Pavan right now and a fifth place at the Alfred Dunhill Links (63 in R2) made it five top 20s in six starts, highlighted by his first European Tour win at August’s Czech Masters. Pavan had disappointing experiences at Walton Heath in 2015 and 2017 but came through a play-off there in 2014 (71-69) to qualify for Pinehurst.
Outside of the Ryder Cup, a good contender for golfer of the month after two wins (Challenge Tour’s Bridgestone Invitational and European Tour’s Portugal Masters), a third at the Kazakhstan Open on the second tier and T10 in last week’s Alfred Dunhill Links. Pushing him further to the front of the queue is his T7 at Walton Heath in June, rounds of 68-69 sending him through to the U.S. Open at Shinnecock.
Beef’s form has been a little in and out over his last five starts – 34-MC-35-MC-10 – but this could be a great stage for him to enjoy a big week. The Englishman is a serial U.S. Open qualifier at Walton Heath where his strong tee-to-green game is rewarded and across the last three years he’s made it through with scores of -10 (T1), -10 (T9) and -4 (T4).
The defending champ, who secured his first European Tour win with victory at Close House last year after holding off Rory McIlroy. He’s played the Walton Heath U.S. Open qualifier in each of the last three years, missing out in 2016 and 2018 but firing 67-68 to make it through in T12 in 2017. “It’s always in amazing condition and being so close to London I’m sure there’ll be plenty of Irish in the crowds too,” he said in the build-up. Current form is a worry though with four missed cuts and T44 in his last five starts.
Showing signs of a return to form after a dip following his Trophee Hassan II victory in Morocco. Tied 13th at the European Open, T20 at the KLM Open and T32 at the Alfred Dunhill Links. The Frenchman has enjoyed his trips to England, posting T4 in the 2016 British Masters and shooting 11-under for 36 holes at Walton Heath in 2015 to qualify in top spot for the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay and advancing with 12-under (T3) to make Erin Hills last year.
Sleeper Picks
Fired 67-67 at Walton Heath to finish joint-top at U.S. Open qualifying four months ago. Southern boy so will feel very much at home. Played all four rounds at Dunhill.
The Scot’s name pops up twice when checking Walton Heath U.S. Open qualifiers in 2017 and 2018. Made it through in T3 on both occasions. T8 in last year’s British Masters. T12 in Denmark.
Fired 67-68 (T3) at Walton Heath in summer qualifying and T18 at 2016 British Masters. Three top 25s in last six starts although MC-MC in last two.
Englishman was T10 and T4 in August, T20 at the Alfred Dunhill on Sunday and shot a pair of 69s to finish third in Walton Heath qualifying two years ago.
Landed the final U.S. Open qualification spot at Walton Heath in June and that included 64 on the Old Course (75 on New). Bagged first win at Nordea in August although four MCs since.
Four straight MCs but ended Alfred Dunhill with rounds of 68-68 in R2/R3. T9 at summer’s Scottish Open and shot 14-under at Walton Heath in 2017 to top qualifying.
Leaderboard presence all week at Alfred Dunhill and still posted T10 despite closing 77. T5 in 2015 British Masters and qualified for U.S. Open at Walton Heath in both 2013 and 2015.
Another with strong mental positive associations at Walton Heath after booking his US Open ticket there in both 2014 and 2016. Third at Nordea Masters in August.
Who’s On The Team?
Ryder Cuppers Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau all made the top ten in Scotland last week so it’s fair to expect this week’s Le Golf National stars to show no ill effects.
Beyond Moliwood and host Rose, there are plenty in the field with good Walton Heath form from U.S. Open qualifying, including last week’s winner Lucas Bjerregaard.
I’ll reveal my full six-man line-up for the official European Tour fantasy game in Tuesday’s Playing The Tips feature.
One To Swerve
This didn’t go too well last week! Matt Fitzpatrick’s comments about the course are enough to put me off him a little.
