British Masters Tips: Hatton To Come Up Trumps
The DP World Tour heads to Warwickshire this week for the British Masters, which will take place on the Brabazon Course at the Belfry.
Tight fairways mean that accuracy and strong course management will have to come to the fore this week if players are to be successful on the 7,336-yard, par-72 course, which hosts this tournament for the fourth successive year.
New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier will be there to defend the title he won 12 months ago when he beat England’s Oliver Wilson and American Gunner Wiebe by two shots.
Hatton set to lead the home challenge
The fact the British Masters clashes with the battle for the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup at the Tour Championship means some of the big-name home-grown stars will be absent, but that means a competitive field will tee off for what could prove a tough test.
One Ryder Cup star who is in attendance is Tyrrell Hatton, who comes into the competition in search of world ranking points, having slipped down the list since joining the breakaway LIV Tour in January.
He is set to go off as favourite while France’s Frederic Lacroix is 33/1 for glory after he claimed the Danish Championship by four shots last week.
Tip 1 - Tyrrell Hatton to win the British Masters @ 7/1
Tyrrell Hatton has slipped to 36th in the world rankings following his decision to join the LIV Tour, where points are not available, and he needs a strong performance at the Belfry to give himself more comfort in the top 50 in his bid to compete in next year’s Majors.
His chances on the DP World Tour have been few and far between - his last appearance in a regulation DPWT event came in the Dubai Desert Classic in January - but it is little surprise to see him at the head of the market.
This will be his course debut, but Hillier won last year on his Belfry bow, so that should not be a concern and his LIV form has been strong.
He claimed his first breakaway victory in Nashville, was third at the Andalucia get-together at Valderrama and then allowed a winning situation to slip through his fingers at the UK gathering in Staffordshire last month, which opened the door for Jon Rahm to claim his first success.
This week’s tight track may be an examination of Hatton’s volatile temperament but he will be clearly focused on what he needs to do this week as the stronger finish he makes to this tournament, the stronger position he will be in when organising his 2025 calendar.
He missed the cut at the Open but it is worth remembering that it was not that long ago that he was rated the fifth best player in the world.
Three of his six DPWT wins have come in Britain - a BMW PGA Championship triumph at Wentworth and two successes at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship - so there looks a strong chance he can take the field by storm this week.
Tip 2 - Thriston Lawrence to win the British Masters @ 22/1
Many South African golfers tend to be seen at their best in tournaments on their home continent, but Thriston Lawrence is one who is looking to break out of that and he heads to the Belfry with an excellent chance of success.
He returned to his homeland to claim a Sunshine Tour victory last time out and should still be full of confidence after his fourth spot at the Open at Royal Troon.
Lawrence has been knocking on the door with three runner-up finishes this year while he claimed the 2022 European Masters to demonstrate that he can win in this sort of company, so we can expect a stronger finish than his past course results of 36th and 39th suggest.
Tip 3 - Yannik Paul to win the British Masters @ 33/1
Another player to keep a close eye on is Germany’s Yannik Paul, who was 16th on his Belfry debut in 2022 and improved on that with eighth spot last year.
The 2022 Mallorca Open champion took a month off after missing the cut at the Open but looks to be back in the swing of things, having shook off the rust with 43rd spot at the Czech Masters and he was much stronger last week at the Danish Championship, where he finished 19th, posting a third-round 66.
So the signs are there that Paul, who posted three top-10 finishes before the end of March, could be coming back into form and he can make his presence felt on a course that he plainly enjoys.
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