A decent run of events begins on the DP World Tour on Thursday when The Belfry opens its doors to some of the best players in the game once again to stage the 2023 version of the British Masters, an historic event in this part of the world.
Thorbjorn Olesen certainly enjoyed his week in the midlands a year ago when he won the title and the Dane will be looking for a successful defence of his crown. A better field than the one which he beat will oppose him.
Recent Winners
2022 – Thorbjorn Olesen
2021 – Richard Bland
2020 – Renato Paratore
2019 – Marcus Kinhult
2018 – Eddie Pepperell
2017 – Paul Dunne
2016 – Alex Noren
2015 – Matthew Fitzpatrick
The Course
We are on the Brabazon Course at The Belfry this week, the scene of Ryder Cups in the past. This track hosted this tournament last year and also one leg of the UK Swing during the pandemic in 2020. The course is a par 72 which measures 7,328 yards which isn’t especially long by modern standards but it is still a decent test of golf, one where good ball striking and accuracy is generally the key.
You don’t need to drive the ball miles here. In fact this is very much a course for finding fairways and greens. The top 10 last year was filled with players who had a high GIR ranking but these greens are small and can be hard to find so scrambling is another key statistic. There isn’t really any premium on putting here, as there doesn’t tend to be on courses with small greens. The weather has been very good in the UK throughout June so the players might get a firmer and faster test than they would normally get at this venue.
The Field
The big difference with the tournament is that it is now being hosted by Sir Nick Faldo and his reach and appeal has lured Justin Rose back to the event as he begins his preparation for The Open. Min Woo Lee is another leading light who will be teeing it up at The Belfry as will the defending champion Thorbjorn Olesen which will give the event a lift. Adrian Meronk is a third player in the top 50 in the world rankings who has a tee time here.
There are four other players in the top 100 in the world rankings on show this week with one of those being Victor Perez while the winner in Germany last week, Thriston Lawrence, is also here. Jordan Smith and Adri Arnaus complete those in the top 100. Joost Luiten blew the lead last week but his finish was enough to get him into the top 10 in the Race to Dubai rankings, a position he’ll look to consolidate this week.
Market Leaders
Justin Rose is clearly the standout name and class act in the field this week and he is the 9/1 favourite to win a tournament he last won in 2002. Rose has been competing at a grade above this level all season and has won on the PGA Tour this term so he brings relatively recent winning form to The Belfry with him. There are decent Ryder Cup points up for grabs this week and it is hard to see him being out of the frame but whether he will hole enough putts to win remains to be seen. He’s a fair favourite but I prefer bigger prices.
Min Woo Lee has had an excellent time of it recently and he’ll be looking to build on that with a crack at this title this week. He is 12/1 to win this tournament and add to his two wins on the DP World Tour. The Australian has finished in the top 20 of the last two majors and he went well at TPC River Highlands last week and was T21 here in 2021, the last time he played the tournament. He is another that I wouldn’t rule out but a couple of weeks in contention and then the travel back to the UK might all take its toll eventually.
Adrian Meronk has been one of the leading players in Europe this year and he is 14/1 to win at The Belfry. His last three regular DP World Tour events have seen him win in Italy, finish fifth in the KLM Open and then third at the BMW International Open in Germany last week. He was also third here when this course first hosted the tournament back in 2021 so there is a lot to like about the Pole and he might just be the fresher of the three at the head of the betting. If 14/1 is your thing he certainly shouldn’t be ruled out.
Jordan Smith is the only other player in the field this week who is shorter than 28/1. He can be taken at 18/1. The obvious issue with him is the putter but this might not be the lowest scoring week the DP World Tour has seen recently and that might help him. Smith was sixth in the European Open and then T20 at the US Open and has finished T17 and T21 here in the last two years so he has been consistent without really ever threatening strongly to win. He feels a fair price and no more.
Main Bets
Jorge Campillo is a player I like this week. I’m not looking for massive hitters here but more players who can position their golf ball off the tee and then get to work with the irons and the shorter clubs and that is largely how the Spaniard goes about his work. The big surprise is that he hasn’t gone all that well around here in the last couple of years but he arrives this year as a tournament winner having won in Kenya and he has four other top 10s on the season as well as a top 15 in Germany last week where he carded a 66 in the final round to give him some confidence to come into this week with. The firmer and faster course might make a big different for Campillo who looks overpriced at 40/1.
The other player I want onside with a main bet stake this week is Richie Ramsay. The Scot was in the top 10 here last year and tends to play these classic British courses well. He is another who doesn’t give it a biff off the tee but when he gets into positions to attack with the irons he can do so. He has a good enough short game to be more than competitive this week. Ramsay arrives in the UK off the back of top 10s in two of his last three starts and with the solid tee to green game that he possesses I expect him to add to that here. I think he is also overpriced this week.
Outsiders
I highlighted the form of Aaron Cockerill last week before he duly messed up my plans and missed the cut but he was sat nicely after 18 holes on four under par only to run into the tougher conditions on the Friday and end up missing the cut. Conditions are not expected to be too rough this week and the course should set up well for a player who prior to last week sat in the top 25 for driving accuracy and greens in regulation on the DP World Tour. He is a solid putter too should that come into play and I’ll give him another chance despite his missed cut last week.
It is less than a month ago that Dale Whitnell hacked up in the Scandinavian Mixed tournament and the key to his success was his iron play where he hit 81.95% of greens in regulation and finished third in strokes gained on approach for the week. Those figures are both marked improvements on his season record for those statistics so if he has found some form with the irons then he is entitled to be right there again this week. Whitnell bombed out at the halfway mark at the BMW International Open last week but that often happens in the first event after a landmark win. He also has four top 15 finishes on the DP World Tour this season so he has a good body of work behind him and having had two spins around here he knows the test in front of him. I’ll pay to see if he can double his DP World Tour wins on home soil.
Tips
Back J.Campillo to win British Masters (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 41.00 with Coral (1/5 1-10)
Back A.Cockerill to win British Masters (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 71.00 with Coral (1/5 1-10)
Back R.Ramsay to win British Masters (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 46.00 with Betway (1/5 1-7)
Back D.Whitnell to win British Masters (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 91.00 with Betway (1/5 1-7)
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