Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo - Five things to know presented by OCEANTEE

The Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo returns to The Belfry this week as one of the DP World Tour’s longest-standing tournaments marks the start of a busy summer of golf on UK soil. Here are your five things to know.

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Same venue, new host and new date

After the iconic Brabazon course at The Belfry was last year confirmed to remain host venue of the Betfred British Masters until 2026, Sir Nick Faldo was earlier this year announced as the new-long term host.

The six-time Major Champion has a strong history at the venue, having represented Europe there in the Ryder Cup on three occasions – famously making a hole-in-one on the par three 14th in 1993. The Englishman – who received a knighthood in 2009 for his services to golf – also won the 18th of his 30 DP World Tour titles at the British Masters in 1989, then held at Woburn.

This year’s edition of the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo is the 20th DP World Tour tournament at the Sutton Coldfield venue, with the event moving to a new summer date.

Faldo is the latest in a line of some of British golf's leading players to act as host, starting with Ryder Cup Captain Luke Donald at The Grove in 2016 and most recently Danny Willett at The Belfry in 2021 and 2022.

Olesen returns as defending champion

Last year, Thorbjørn Olesen returned to the winner’s circle in dramatic fashion after a four-year absence as he won his sixth DP World Tour title by one stroke from Sweden’s Sebastian Söderberg.

Trailing by two shots with two holes to play, the 2018 Ryder Cup player produced a stunning eagle-birdie finish for the second day running on the Brabazon course to snatch victory in front of a sell-out 15,000 strong crowd.

The victory saw the Dane emulate countryman Thomas Bjørn in adding his name to the illustrious list of past champions. The 33-year-old has since won his seventh Tour title at the Thailand Classic in February, during a run of five consecutive top 20 finishes at the start of the year.

Olesen begins the week ninth in the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex with the chance to become the first repeat winner of the event at The Belfry.

Field in focus

Joining Olesen in teeing it up at this week’s event are a host of recognisable figures from the world stage. Justin Rose is expected to draw huge galleries on his return to home soil after a resurgence in 2023 which has seen him claim his first PGA TOUR victory in four years at Pebble Beach, return to the top 50 on the Official World Golf Ranking and finish in the top 20 at two of the opening three majors of the year. The 2013 U.S. Open Champion, who made his Ryder Cup debut under the captaincy of Faldo in 2008, is also a former winner of the British Masters, having triumphed at Woburn in 2002, and was also the host at Walton Heath in 2018.

Just two weeks on from his top-five finish at the U.S. Open, Min Woo Lee is another big name in the field, which also includes three-time DP World Tour winners Victor Perez and Adrian Meronk, who both have ambitions of a Ryder Cup debut later this year after their respective triumphs in Abu Dhabi and Italy earlier this year. Hero Cup stars Robert MacIntyre, Ewen Ferguson and Richard Mansell are among the home acts on show.

Open Qualifying Series

The Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo marks the first of three consecutive events on the DP World Tour in which spots are up for grabs at the 151st Open Championship, being held from July 20-23. Next week’s Made in HimmerLand and Genesis Scottish Open – the third Rolex Series event of the season – being held the week after also form part of The Open Qualifying Series. The top three players not already exempt who make the cut will book their ticket to Royal Liverpool Golf Club for the final Major of the year. Dan Bradbury, Sami Välimäki, Christian Bezuidenhout, Haydn Barron, Alejandro Cañizares and Lee have so far earned their places at Hoylake via the series at the Joburg Open and ISPS HANDA Australian Open respectively earlier this season.

G4D Tour continues while sustainability is at the forefront too

The ground-breaking G4D Tour continued its second campaign this week at the scene of its inaugural event. World Number One Kipp Popert successfully defended his titles with an impressive seven-shot victory at The Belfry. After winning five titles in the inaugural G4D Tour season, he then added a sixth in Australia towards the tail end of last year at the season-opening Australian All Abilities Championship @ the ISPS HANDA Australian Open.

There will also be a host of initiatives taking place, including a sustainability themed campaign which will see 100 trees planted for every player that manages to drive the iconic par four tenth hole from the tee. This new campaign forms part of the DP World Tour’s existing Green Drive sustainability programme, where it has become the first professional golf Tour to commit to being net zero carbon by 2040. The Golf Futures programme will also be in full swing with children from two local schools in attendance on Thursday and Friday, while a Golf Sixes event is also taking place on Wednesday with the participation of around 30 kids.

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