After a pair of dual ranking events the European Tour goes solo kicking off its six-tournament swing through the UK with this week’s Betfred British Masters. We saw a number of Euro Tour players compete in the opening two events but this marks the restart for many of the top golfers, including the past three winners of the British Masters. Serving as tournament host, Lee Westwood has a serious advantage of terms of course knowledge having played Close House Golf Club a number of times since the venue reopened. Not surprisingly, Westwood opened as the betting favorite. Marcus Kinhult is the defending champ finishing one swing better than a trio of golfers at Hillside GC last year. Paul Dunne shot a tournament record 260 winning the 2017 edition the last time at Close House. Visit BookMaker.eu for a complete list of betting odds when you’re ready to place a wager.
Odds to Win Betfred British Masters at BookMaker.eu
Lee Westwood +900
Thomas Detry +1409
Eddie Pepperell +2218
Marcus Kinhult +3036
Ryan Fox +3036
Ross Fisher +3036
Jordan Smith +3036
Mikko Korhonen +3036
Andy Sullivan +3547
Adri Arnaus +4000
Brandon Stone +4400
Pablo Larrazabal +4400
Marc Warren +4500
Connor Syme +4500
Kalle Samooja +4500
Justin Harding +4500
Guido Migliozzi +5000
Alexander Bjork +5000
Romain Langasque +5000
Renato Paratore +5000
Richie Ramsay +5500
Andrew Johnston +5500
Min Woo Lee +5500
Chris Paisley +5500
Matthew Jordan +5500
Zander Lombard +5500
Scott Jamieson +5500
Jeff Winther +5500
Miguel Angel Jimenez +5550
Alexander Levy +6000
Sam Horsfield +6500
Matthieu Pavon +6600
Adrien Saddier +7000
Grant Forrest +7000
Wil Besseling +7050
Marcus Armitage +7500
Antoine Rozner +7550
Andrea Pavan +7550
Odds Analysis
Lee Westwood +900
It’s usually a good idea to stay away from the guy hosting the event with all the extracurricular activities. This is a different situation with no spectators allowed, greatly diminishing Westwood’s responsibilities and giving him more time to concentrate on golf. The situation “will allow me to focus more time on trying to win the golf tournament this time around,” he said. I was surprised to see him at this price making his selection even more worth the investment. It’s hard to go against the Close House pro who knows the layout better than anyone.
Miguel Angel Jimenez +5550
If anyone benefitted from the four-month COVID-induced hiatus it was Jimenez, who returned two weeks ago at the Austrian Open with a second-round 65, his lowest on Tour since 2018. The old man on the Euro circuit tees it up for a record-tying 706th time and looked rejuvenated last time out on his way to an eighth-place finish. His standing would have been much better if not for a third round 77, but he did work out some kinks ahead of this week.
Marc Warren +4500
Winning a Tour event should take the bag out of Warren’s hands. But considering he won the Austrian Open a few weeks back toting his sticks he might want to continue the tradition. I don’t know if he’s superstitious, but the victory was a sign that the Scot is having a resurgence this late in his career. A talented golfer with a silky-smooth swing, the Close House layout presents an opportunity to continue the good run of form.
Chris Paisley +5500
Another local with plenty of course knowledge, Paisley’s adept touch around the greens is something that makes him worth a look. He missed the cut at Close House in 2017 as a rookie with that embarrassment used as motivation this time around. A few weeks after that debacle, Paisley held off Branden Grace to win the South African Open. Prior to the shutdown Paisley had four red numbers for a T7 at Qatar and he stayed sharp competing on the Florida mini-tour.
Thomas Detry +1409
There is something to be said about playing competitively instead of smacking the ball around on the range. Detry has been around for a few years and is still searching for that elusive maiden ET victory. Being one of the more talented golfers in the field he has a good chance this week. He kept busy during the break winning a pro-am challenge and returned to action with a solid T8 at the Austrian Open bookended by a pair of 68s. He’s been trending upward and I like his chances to contend come Saturday.
Course: Close House Golf Club – 6,872 yards, Par 71
In case you needed more info as to why Westwood is the favorite take note – the damn course is named after him. The Lee Westwood Colt Course at Close House opened in 2011 with the former world No. 1 having plenty of input on the design and layout. That doesn’t make him an automatic winner, though. The course isn’t going to fool many. At under 6,900 yards it’s short and fairly easy with few hazards in the way. The three par-5s are short by Tour standards and five par-4s measure less than 400 yards. A stellar short game will go a long way to determining a winner. In 2017, Dunne had a masterful touch on and around the greens leading to a tournament record 260 total.
TV Coverage: Golf Channel
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