Tournament host Sir Nick Faldo is excited to stamp his mark on the Betfred British Masters with the event set to get under way at The Belfry tomorrow.
The six-time Major Champion has this year taken over hosting duties of the long-running DP World Tour tournament and, with the four-time Ryder Cup venue committed to hosting the event for the next five years, Faldo is looking to leave a long-lasting impact.
“I’m very honoured to be in this position,” he said. “Looking forward to a nice stretch over the next five years or more, and the goal is to have an impact on this event, and do the best I can to help raise it in different areas. It looks good out there. Good atmosphere. Ready to rock and roll.
“A lot depends on the weather, hole locations, all that sort of thing. It’s a completely different game from my day. Guys hit literally a hundred yards further than we did, cutting corners, all sorts of things.
“But that doesn’t mean it’s not going to be a good test. You’re going to find a way to make that happen. If it’s going to be low-scoring, you’d better be part of it. But who knows, if the wind stays up, it’s still very exposed out there. It’s an awkward test. We’ll see.”
Faldo, a 30-time DP World Tour winner who represented Team Europe on three occasions at The Belfry during a spell of 11 consecutive Ryder Cups from 1977 to 1997, in addition to Captaining the team in 2008, has helped assemble a strong field in England.
Fellow Major winner Justin Rose has returned to an event he has profound history with. The 2013 U.S. Open champion won this tournament in 2002, his first victory on English soil, and went on to become host in 2018, at Walton Heath.
“It’s great to be back,” said Rose. “Obviously, it’s been a while since I’ve been able to sort of be back playing on the DP World Tour, but it’s also it’s been really good catching up with the players.
“Always feel like it’s a bunch of new faces, obviously. And you know, a lot of guys talk to me for the first time as well. So yeah, really good to be competing and obviously nice to be playing back on home soil as well. So it’s been a while since I’ve been back at the Belfry. I can’t remember the exact last time I played, but even back in the Benson and Hedges days, I think it was in 2001. It’s really good to be back, just seen nine holes now, course is looking good.
“It’s got a character I think, this tournament. It has these little touches and it does feel very British. It’s going to be well supported and it has some energy building around it, obviously Nick supporting the event now and being attached to it for the foreseeable future, I think is pretty good. It gives it more depth in terms of history and significance. So I feel like the tournament is in a good spot.
It is the first time the five-time Ryder Cup player has teed it up on home soil since returning to the winner’s circle on the PGA TOUR at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am earlier this year and he will be joined by 2018 team-mate and defending champion Thorbjørn Olesen.
The Dane, who has since won on the 2023 Race to Dubai at the Thailand Classic, claimed his sixth DP World Tour title after producing a sensational eagle-birdie finish for the second day running to win on the iconic Brabazon Course in 2022.
Prostate Cancer UK will again be the Official Charity Partner of the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo, with tournament title sponsors Betfred pledging to support the fundraising efforts by donating £500 for every eagle made during the week, as well as £500 for every player that drives the famous tenth green.
They will also donate £50,000 if a hole-in-one is made on the iconic par three 14th hole, the same hole that tournament host Sir Nick Faldo recorded an ace during the 1993 Ryder Cup.
- Full tee-times HERE
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