2015 British Masters Picks

This week is a special week for the European Tour, it's the return of the British Masters. This tournament hasn't been played on the European Tour since 2009 and returns to Woburn Golf and Country Club in Woburn, UK this year. It's being hosted by Ian Poulter, who is also the club's touring professional, and brings a purse of 3 million euros to the table.

The British Masters was first contested in 1946 as a restricted event at the end of the year. It reached peak popularity in the 80's, where the tournament was won by the likes of Greg Norman (81, 82), Seve Ballesteros (86, 91), Nick Faldo (89), and more. However, popularity for the tournament declined in the years after and it was cancelled after 2008, due to a lack of sponsorship. In the past it's been played on courses all over the UK, like The Belfry, Woburn, Royal St. George, Wentworth, St. Andrews, etc. This week, Woburn will play as a par 72 at just under 7,000 yards.

The return of the British Masters has brought many of the European Tour's elite players to the field this week. Tournament host Ian Poulter is on many pick lists this week. He knows this course better than anyone else in the field this week, hands down. Add in the fact that he hasn't won in over three years and we might see some of that Ryder Cup Ian Poulter in the field this week. There's probably no other place he'd like to win too.

Poulter is one of our picks this week, among others:

1) Ian Poulter
2) Luke Donald
3) Lee Westwood

It's an all English pick list this week, some of England's best in recent years. Two former World Number One's in the form of Luke and Lee and a Ryder Cup legend in the form of Ian. Surely one of them will win this week...

 

Play kicks off early tomorrow morning and it's sure to be filled with good golf. Be sure to check out our Weekend Update post to see who's leading at the halfway point.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Ian Poulter is playing his home course this week. Could he win this week?

Furyk Leads by Four Halfway Through WGC Bridgestone Invitational

After two rounds of play on Firestone's South Course, PGA Tour veteran Jim Furyk holds a four shot lead at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational, going into the weekend. He sits at 8-under; behind him, a three-way tie for second between Irishman Shane Lowry, Bubba Watson, and our pick Dustin Johnson. There is also no cut this week since this is a WGC event.

The South Course wasn't giving up much in the form of low scores over the first two days and played tough. The scoring average of the field was probably around even par or just slightly less, but some low scores were found by some. Australia's Danny Lee shot a 65 in the opening round and our leader Jim Furyk shot back to back 66's. Jim's round today was back and forth, a real battle, consisting of seven birdies and three bogeys. The course today played a bit tougher than yesterday however, with more players shooting over par rounds than sub par rounds.

Another round of note was that of TGR favourite Graeme McDowell, who sits T5 at 3-under. GMac went 66/71 for his first two rounds but despite his higher score today, he admitted in his post-round interview that he still played great and is happy to be in the position he's in. This is the first time in quite a bit where GMac's been in contention. Best of luck to him this weekend.

Finally, here's how our picks are doing so far:

1) Adam Scott: T26 at 1-over
2) Dustin Johnson: T2 at 4-under
3) Victor Dubuisson: T34 at 2-over

Good considering the conditions. Scott opened with a 72 but came back with a 69 today. Johnson once again is showing us why he's the best golfer in the world who hasn't won in the past few months. He shot a 69/67 so far and always seems to be T5 or higher at some point in every tournament he plays in. Dubuisson started strong with a 68 but faltered slightly today with a 74 (which included three straight bogeys).

There's still lots of golf to be played, so anything can happen. Stay tuned Sunday evening for our Results post...


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Can Jim Furyk hold onto his lead for his second win this year?

Danny Lee Wins the 2015 Greenbrier Classic

Yet again another playoff was needed to decide the winner this week at the Greenbrier Classic at the Old White TPC. After four rounds of golf, four players were tied for the lead at 13-under: Brampton, Ontario native David Hearn, Robert Streb, Kevin Kisner, and New Zealander Danny Lee. After two holes of sudden death, Danny Lee emerged as the winner. This is Lee's first PGA Tour win and only his third professional win. It's also his first pro win in four years. This is a major step in his career as he becomes the first New Zealander in 10 years to win on Tour and earns exemptions into the British Open, PGA Championship, and next year's Masters.

In most tournaments, the quality of players atop the leaderboard is often looked at the most, however what surprised many this week was the quantity of players at the top. At the end of it all, 22 players were within three shots of the lead. It was one of the biggest log jams we've seen so far this season and during today's round, there was much movement between the top spots. This was largely a result of how benign Old White TPC had being playing (even as rain fell towards the end of today's round). A playoff seemed inevitable almost from the start of the final round...

The playoff started on the par 3 18th hole over water. Both Lee and Hearn landed their tee shots on the green in pretty much the exact same spots as when they played the hole in regulation. Both subsequently made birdies. Kisner and Streb both barely overshot the green and missed their birdie attempts. To the par 5 17th hole Hearn and Lee went, where an error on Hearn's part resulted in him bogeying the hole. Lee parred and won it. Hearn's playoff loss is the closest a Canadian has come to winning on tour in recent years.

Finally, here's how our picks finished off the tournament:

1) Graham DeLaet: T37 at 6-under
2) Kevin Na: T32 at 7-under

David Heard seemed to pick up the slack of top Canadian in the field when DeLaet struggled. Both DeLaet and Na finished okay, but will probably be disappointed with their weekend performances.

That's it for our coverage this week. Join us next week for some links golf in Gullane, Scotland for the Scottish Open at Gullane Golf Club.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Representing New Zealand, Danny Lee Wins the 2015 Greenbrier Classic