The DP World Tour heads into its ‘Back 9’ Swing as this week’s Betfred British Masters kicks it off.
This event was first staged in 1946 as the Dunlop Masters. It was played until 2008 when the event was lost from the schedule after Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano won at this week’s venue, the Belfry, in 2008.
The event returned in 2015 when Ian Poulter hosted the event at Woburn.
Since its return we’ve seen the likes of Luke Donald, Lee Westwood (twice,) Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood and Danny Willet (twice) host this prestigious event.
This year’s installment will once again be hosted by Sir Nick Faldo, who also hosted it a season ago. Faldo received Knighthood in 2009 for his services to golf. Faldo is a three time Masters winner and three time Open Champion.
The Field
This week’s field is headlines by LIV Golf Tour’s Tyrell Hatton who looks to claim victory on home soil.
Outside of Hatton, fellow Englishman Matt Wallace and a contingent of DP World Tour regulars look to play spoiler.
Other notable names teeing it up this week include Rasmus Hojgaard, Thorbjorn Olesen, Ewen Ferguson, Frederic Lacroix, Laurie Canter, Tristan Lawrence, Guido Migliozzi, Richard Mansell and Matthew Jordan.
Daniel Hillier comes in as the defending champion as he held off the likes of Gunner Wiebe and Oliver Wilson by two strokes a season ago.
This event and venue typically sees the cream-of-the-crop compete for a victory.
Richard Bland, the 2021 winner, is by some distance the biggest outsider to win here this century.
This was once an event dominated by Englishmen but in the last five years, we’ve seen a Kiwi, a Dane, an Italian and a Swede take the title.
Other former winners of the Betfred British Masters teeing it up this week include Olesen (2022,) Renato Paratore (2020,) Marcus Kinhult (2019) and Eddie Pepperell (2018.)
The Course
This week’s venue is The Belfry in Wishaw, Warwickshire, England. It plays as a Par-72 at 7,328 yards.
The Brabazon course at The Belfry was designed by Peter Alliss and Dave Thomas and first came to prominence when it hosted the Ryder Cup.
The parkland course is nearly unrecognizable from its Ryder Cup days with the then, hundreds of saplings, now turned into fully grown trees.
The Belfry is best described as a relatively flat course that features tree-lined, narrow fairways.
Water is in play on seven holes, most notably at the short, driveable par-four tenth. Last year the hole played to an average of 3.97 strokes.
The tenth is arguably the most memorable hole on the course, described as a risk-and–reward hole which can be reached from the tee.
Another notable hole is the ‘brutal’ finishing hole. The 18th is a par-four featuring a drive over water and an approach over water as well. The green is then three-tiered.
This final hole offers plenty of chances for the event to be won or lost and can be the host for a dramatic finish.
The greens are Poa Annua and are fairly small on average. The larger greens at this course feature tiers and undulations, placing a premium on putting and scrambling.
The Weather
As of the time of writing this, there is at most a 20-percent chance of precipitation across all four days. Thursday currently calls for a 20-percent chance of precipitation, Friday a ten-percent chance, Saturday a five-percent chance and Sunday a 15-percent chance. Winds will begin at 14 miles-per-hour on Thursday before falling to 11 miles-per-hour on Friday and then down to seven-and-nine miles-per-hour for Saturday and Sunday respectively. Temperatures will begin at 59-degrees on Thursday before gradually increasing to 65-degrees come Sunday. In all, not a bad four days for golf.
Key Stats
Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: APP)
Scrambling
Bogey Avoidance
Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (SG: OTT) / Driving Accuracy
Strokes Gained: Putting (SG: PUTT)
Greens in Regulation Percentage (GIR%)
Strokes Gained: Around the Green (SG: ATG)
Par Four Average Scoring
Birdie or Better Percentage
Betting Card
Tom McKibbin (+2750)
We can thank Hatton for being in this field to give us some great odds outside of him. McKibbin is arguably the best golfer in this field not named Hatton and you can find him anywhere from +2000-to-+2500. McKibbin re-found some form last week in Denmark as he finished T10th. Prior to that he placed T76th at the D+D Real Czech Masters, T66th at The Open Championship and T75th at the Genesis Scottish Open. He also placed second at the Italian Open and sixth at the KLM Open however. McKibbin is currently sixth on Tour in SG: OTT, tenth in bogey avoidance, 11th in GIR%, 20th in par four average scoring, 34th in SG: APP, 40th in scrambling, 48th in birdie or better percentage and 68th in SG: PUTT. His downfall comes around the greens as he ranks 163rd in SG: ATG. He’ll need a spike week there this week but he’s a proven winner on the DP World Tour.
Thriston Lawrence (+3500)
Lawrence is currently first on Tour in SG: PUTT, fourth in birdie or better percentage, 17th in both scrambling and SG: OTT, 25th in par four average scoring, 33rd in bogey avoidance, 54th in driving accuracy, 72nd in SG: APP and 88th in GIR%. Like McKibbin, Lawrence’s downfall comes around the greens as he ranks 138th in SG: ATG. He too will need a spike week there this week. We last saw Lawrence at The Open Championship where he finished fourth. He also placed T2nd at the European Open as of late.
Connor Syme (+4000)
The Scotsman comes into this week in some great form. He placed T38th in his last outing at the D+D Real Czech Masters. He also placed T15th at the Genesis Scottish Open and T4th at the BMW International Open. Syme is currently fifth on Tour in bogey avoidance, seventh in par four average scoring, eighth in scrambling, 13th in SG: PUTT, 27th in birdie or better percentage, 28th in GIR%, 66th in driving accuracy, 88th in SG: APP, 92nd in SG: OTT and 115th in SG: ATG.
Joe Dean (+7500)
Dean has quickly become the talk of the Tour after his improbable run to qualify for The Open Championship and then in turn, placing T25th. He also placed T5th in his last outing at the Danish Golf Championship as well as T29th at the Italian Open and T2nd at the KLM Open as of late. Dean is currently sixth on Tour in SG: PUTT, 27th in SG: OTT, 40th in both bogey avoidance and par four average scoring, 49th in birdie or better percentage, 57th in GIR%, 59th in scrambling, 61st in driving accuracy, 78th in SG: APP and 120th in SG: ATG.
Fabrizio Zanotti (+13000)
It’s been sometime since we last saw Zanotti on the DP World Tour. He last appeared at the co-sanctioned Barracuda Championship where he missed the cut but prior to that placed T37th at the ISCO Championship. He also placed T32nd at the BMW International Open. Zanotti is currently ninth on the DP World Tour in SG: ATG, 14th in driving accuracy, 30th in GIR%, 33rd in SG: APP, 50th in birdie or better percentage, 56th in both scrambling and par four average scoring, 62nd in bogey avoidance and 71st in SG: OTT. His downfall comes on the greens as he ranks 159th in SG: PUTT. A spike week with the putter will be required by Zanotti this week.
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