The DP World Tour heads to the Belfry this week for the British Masters, and this is one of my favourite events of the season outside of the majors. We’re at the home of English golf, and the Brabazon is a course I know really well. So much history has been made here over the years, most notably with the Ryder Cup. It’s a proper test of golf, and there is something special about having this event at such an iconic venue on the DP World Tour.
Tyrrell Hatton is the obvious man to beat this week and in my opinion, the most likely winner by a long way. He has the class to dominate this field, but at the prices, I simply can’t go in again. He’s cost us enough trying to get him over the line this season, so I’ll be happy to watch him from the sidelines this time around.
Matt Wallace and Marco Penge also give England plenty to shout about and both have genuine chances, but there are plenty of players further down the market who I think are worth considering outside of the home players this week.
The Brabazon is a course that I really like from a betting perspective, because I think there are plenty of different ways to attack it, and with a strong field, there are some very appealing prices available.
I’ve maxed out at six players this week, which is probably as many as I want to take on, but there are some really nice big prices in there and hopefully, we can find the winner. This is all about finding class ball strikers, and I am quite excited by my squad this week.
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1. Calum Hill (+6000)
Two time DP World Tour winner Calum Hill makes the top spot of my squad this week, and he was the first player I had in mind for this event for a few week’s now.
His form this season hasn’t been his best, but I like the way his game is starting to trend when you break down all of the numbers, and the Brabazon course is a really good fit for his game style.
Calum Hill is a really good ball striker, and that generally sets the main trend of my squad this week. The Belfry is a course where mishits get seriously penalised, so first and foremost, get yourself some good ball strikers on side.
Then when you look at the season Calum Hill has had. He started off well with a couple of runner-up efforts in Bahrain and Qatar, but his game then seemed to have dropped off for a few months from fairway to green.
Now, even though his scoring hasn’t exactly improved over the past month or two, his ball striking has certainly been trending back to where it was, so now could be the time to side with him, back on the ultimate ball strikers golf course.
His record here isn’t the best, but he was tied fourth here back in 2023, and that sort of performance is what I would be expecting from him this week. His Driving is longer than it has been before, his irons are coming back to where they need to be. Perhaps, now is the time to strike with Calum Hill, during what’s been an average season by his standards. Too good of a course fit to leave out.
2. Thorbjorn Olesen (+6500)
The first thing to mention about Thorbjorn Olesen, is this hasn’t been his best season, but a return to the Belfry will be welcomed. He played really well last year and earned PGA Tour starts which he has taken advantage of by playing in this year, but it must be said, without much success.
His game just hasn’t been very sharp, but what I would say about Thorbjorn, is he is a very well established European player who clearly enjoys these conditions much more than the American layouts.
His record here is very good too. A ball-striking course, where he can strike his way round attacking the par 5s and being aggressive on the par 4s, are the conditions he thrives on, and he showed this with a win here back in 2022.
Golf is very much a game where you can play well one day, and poor the next, and I am happy to overlook his American appearances this season, and think a return here will suit him very nicely.
A lot of players at the top of the market come with good credentials, but Thorbjorn is an eight time winner on the DP World Tour, a previous winner of this event, and he is double the price of some players with less on offer.
He will feel very much at home here, and well worth having in the squad, in a standout event on the DP World Tour calendar.
3. Ewen Ferguson (+5500)
Ewen Ferguson is one of the best course fits on paper and there is plenty to be enthusiastic about his game at the minute. He is a three-time DP World Tour winner, and his ball striking with his irons has always been the dominant attribute in his game for a long time.
Off the tee, Farguson can be a little touch and go because he does come slightly over the top. That’s never ideal, but if he hits it well off the tee, then you’d bank on Ferguson going well this week, with the game he has from fairway to green.
He is one of the players who just strike their irons so well that his misses are never too penalising, and even though he isn’t a top class putter, he generally gives himself enough chances to score well by hitting a ton of greens in regulation.
Ball striking courses are ideal for Ewen Ferguson, we’ve seen this previously, and coming into this, he boasts good form with a tied 9th in the Danish, before a respectable tied 24th in the Nexo last week. Although that event was in his homeland, he does much prefer parkland courses, and he has a chance at this course. Especially, if he drives it well.
4. Bernd Wiesberger (+8000)
Bernd Wiesberger is a player that I have never really got on with when it comes to punting, however it’s hard to ignore his price this week at this course. He fits the mould of the three players I’ve already selected this week, in the sense he is a good ball striker, a very good iron player, and good enough at putting to enable him to score well at these courses too.
Players like Bernd, Ferguson and Thorbjorn are real all-round players, and they will be a group of players out of only a small amount, that could come here and shoot six or seven under in a round. When they get on a roll, they are just hard to stop.
My previous record of backing Bernd Wiesberger does make me back him with a touch of caution, but he is an eleven time winner on the DP World Tour, so it’s more likely my problem and backing him at the wrong times.
All his career wins though, replicate a similar type of course to the Brabazon, or are at least parkland courses, so this could be the week to side with him. As mentioned, his price is very big with all things considered, which gets him into the squad.
5. Kota Kaneko (+12500)
I can’t help but feel that Kota Kaneko has been dangerously overlooked in the market, simply because of a few ‘poor’ recent performances. However, there are very valid excuses for those results.
He has missed his last three cuts, but the latest two came in the Scottish Open and The Open at Royal Birkdale, so I think those can easily be forgiven. He is far from the obvious links player, but I actually think the bookmakers have pushed his price out because of those results, and I don’t think that’s justified.
Before those missed cuts, his form this season was seriously impressive. In the three events leading in to them, he finished tied-second in the Soudal Open, won the Austrian Open, and then finished tied-11th in the Italian Open.
Even more impressively, across those 12 rounds, not one was in the 70s. Every single round was in the 60s, including four rounds of 65. That’s a seriously impressive run of golf.
Those three events also came on parkland style courses, which is exactly what he returns to here at the Belfry. I see no reason why he can’t get back to that level of scoring, especially over four rounds of the Brabazon.
Kaneko’s now a DP World Tour winner, and I don’t expect him to take his foot off the gas. He’s been really good from tee to green, while also ranking second in strokes gained putting, so there is plenty to like about his overall game.
At 125/1, I think this is a huge price. Considering the form he showed before those understandable missed cuts, the course fit, and the fact we already know he can win on the DP World Tour, Kaneko looks seriously overpriced to me this week. I’m quite excited by his chances this week.
6. Andreas Harlvorsen (+17500)
My wildcard this week is Andreas Harlvorsen from Norway at 175/1. This is a player I have watched very closely this season, and he has been showing glimpses of real class, whilst going under the radar.
This season, we have seen players like Jayden Schaper, Casey Jarvis, Marco Penge all come through the ranks after not showing too much results wise, and Andreas Harlvorsen could be the next player to join them in the winners circle.
He is a seriously talented golfer that we could be hearing a lot more of in the future, and it only takes one breakthrough to get the ball rolling. The 20-year-old has shown a lot of class in his game, full of flare, and he is the type of player that we do see pop up here at the Belfry, posting a good number.
It was similar with Tom Vaillant a couple of years ago, where he just thrived at a high caliber ball striking golf course. This year, I’m willing to take a chance on Andreas Harlvorsen being that player, and I’d love to catch him for his breakthrough win.
This is a very tough event to win, but I want to take a chance on him making a big impact this week at a huge price. A real player that not many would have heard of just yet, but I think he is a youngster on the rise!
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