The Staysure Tour returns to one of its longest-running tournaments this weekend as the Travis Perkins Masters takes place at Woburn Golf Club. Here’s five things to look out for…
Free Friday
As part of the celebrations of Travis Perkins’ 15-year backing of the Staysure Tour, spectators can watch the first day’s play for free. The Northampton-based builders’ merchant have sponsored a tournament on the Staysure Tour for each of the last 15 years and to celebrate this special landmark at Woburn Golf Club, all public admission charges will be waived on Day One of the 2018 edition of a tournament which has been watched by around a quarter of a million spectators since its inception in 2002. Tickets for the final two days on Saturday September 1 and Sunday September 2 are priced £10 in advance and £15 on the gate.
Charity partners
Prostate Cancer UK has been appointed Official Charity to the tournament, which confirms the joint commitment of the charitable and sporting organisations to help save lives. For the past three years, the leading men’s charity have sponsored the Scottish Senior Open but their attention now turns to the Travis Perkins Masters. Over 26,000 men are living with, and after, prostate cancer in Scotland, while more than 47,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, making it the most common type of cancer among men. To find out more about Prostate Cancer UK’s work in golf visitProstate Cancer UK.
Show me the money
Staysure Tour Members will this year compete for a prize fund of £380,000, an increase of £20,000 from last year. This year’s winner will collect £57,000, £3,000 more than Phil Golding receive following his triumph in 2017. In addition to the prize money, the victor will receive £10,000 from the Duke of Bedford, the president of Woburn Golf Club. The ‘Duke’s Bonus’ is unofficial prize money and does not count towards the Order of Merit.
Star-studded alumni
Some of the biggest names associated with the Staysure Tour have previously triumphed at the Travis Perkins Masters. Mark James, the 1999 European Ryder Cup Captain, won the event in 2005 before Carl Mason, the record winner on the Staysure Tour with 25 victories, triumphed in the next two years. Colin Montgomerie made Woburn Golf Club a fortress between 2013 and 2015, winning three successive Travis Perkins Masters. His first win at the event was a six-shot victory in 2013, before he secured a sensational ten-shot margin of victory the following year. The 2010 Ryder Cup Captain then beat countryman Ross Drummond in a play-off in 2015 to make history by the first player to win a title in three consecutive years on both the European Tour and Staysure Tours.
Ready for battle
A strong field is set to tee it up at Woburn Golf Club this week, with two former European Ryder Cup captains in the field. Ian Woosnam, the 1991 Masters Tournament Champion, heads the field, with the 2006 European skipper joined by 1999 Captain Mark James. Clark Dennis, the 2017 Order of Merit winner, defending champion Phil Golding, VTB Russian Open Golf Championship (Senior) winner David Shacklady and former Ryder Cup players Phillip Price and Costantino Rocca, among others, will also tee it up at Woburn.
