The European Tour remains in the UK this week as the top players take on Walton Heath’s Old Course in the Sky Sports British Masters hosted by Justin Rose.
Sky Sports British Masters Leaderboard, Preview, TV Times
An impressive field has travelled to Walton Heath this week to contest the Sky Sports British Masters. Paul Dunne is defending champion and Justin Rose is tournament host.
Justin Rose plays host at the Sky Sports British Masters at Walton Heath this week. The recent World Number 1 is joined on the start sheet by an impressive cast list of current stars and European Tour greats.
Ryder Cup players Tommy Fleetwood, Francesco Molinari and Thorbjorn Olesen will play, so too will European Captain Thomas Bjørn and his five Vice Captains from Le Golf National: Graeme McDowell, Luke Donald, Robert Karlsson, Lee Westwood and Padraig Harrington.
As tournament host, 2002 British Masters champ Justin Rose selected Walton Heath as the venue for this year’s event. The Old Course at Walton Heath is one of the best inland layouts in the country. The club has hosted many significant events over the years, including the 1981 Ryder Cup, and the annual U.S. Open qualifier.
“Walton Heath is a golf course I really, really enjoy playing, in fact I love it,” said Rose. “It has got teeth but it is traditional and hopefully the players will really enjoy it.”
The British Masters was first held in 1946 when South Africa’s Bobby Locke tied with Jimmy Adams of Scotland at Stoneham Golf Club. Over the years there have been some great champions including Peter Thomson, Tony Jacklin, Greg Norman, Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros, Colin Montgomerie and Justin Rose.
Paul Dunne defends British Masters title
After a seven-year hiatus, the tournament returned to the European Tour schedule in 2015 when Matthew Fitzpatrick won at Woburn. In 2016, Alex Noren came out on top at The Grove in Hertfordshire. He beat Austrian Bernd Wiesberger by two strokes. Last year at Close House, Ireland’s Paul Dunne put on a tremendous display, closing with a spectacular 61 to finish three clear of Rory McIlroy.
On Tuesday evening, a selection of stars playing in this year’s British Masters will take part in the Hero Challenge – A one-hole shootout to take place at London’s Canary Wharf. Justin Rose, Thomas Bjorn, Paul Dunne, Andrew Johnston, Thorbjorn Olesen and Matt Wallace will star in the event
On Wednesday there will be a televised pro-am tournament featuring celebrities like Niall Horan, Ronan Keating, John Terry, Dan Walker and Jamie Redknapp.
As the event is sponsored by Sky Sports, coverage is extensive, starting with the Hero Challenge and continuing with the Wednesday pro-am before the tournament proper.
The weather looks set fair in the build-up to the tournament but there could be some rain on Thursday and over the weekend.
Venue: Walton Heath GC, Walton on the Hill, Surrey, England
Date: Oct 9-14
Course stats: Par 72, 7,394 yards
Purse: £3,000,000
Defending champion: Paul Dunne (-20)
How to watch the Sky Sports British Masters
TV Coverage:
Tuesday 9 – (Hero Challenge) Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event from 6.30pm
Wednesday 10 – (Pro-Am) Sky Sports Golf from 3pm
Thursday 11 – Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event from 9.30am
Friday 12 – Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event from 9.30am
Saturday 13 – Sky Sports Golf from 11.30am and Sky Sports Main Event from 1.15pm
Sunday 14 – Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event from 10.30am
Not a Sky Sports customer and want to watch the Sky Sports British Masters?
BUY NOW: Now TV Sky Sports Pass – £7.99 for a day, £12.99 for a week or £33.99 for a month
Players to watch:
Tommy Fleetwood will be among the favourites at Walton Heath
Tommy Fleetwood – He’s riding the crest of the wave at the moment. After his brilliant performance in the Ryder Cup, he was tied second in last week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Andrea Pavan – A form player right now, the Italian won the Czech Masters and was tied fifth in the Dunhill last week.
Eddie Pepperell – The Englishman will be looking to continue his strong finish to the year. He’s up to 50th on the Official World Golf Ranking and a good result in this event could see him push further up the table.
Key hole: 16th. A favourite hole on the course, it’s normally played as a par-5 but the players this week will take it on as a challenging 475 yard par-4. Walk off with a par on this one on Sunday afternoon and you’ll have picked up half a shot on the field.
This article Sky Sports British Masters Leaderboard, Preview, TV Times appeared first on Golf Monthly.