Five things to know: Cazoo Classic

The European Tour heads to London Golf Club this week for the inaugural Cazoo Classic. Here are your five things to know.

Inaugural event

The European Tour returns to London Golf Club for the first time since 2014 this week for the inaugural Cazoo Classic.

The final leg in the 2021 UK Swing, the Cazoo Classic will be the sixth consecutive week the European Tour has been in the United Kingdom, and follows last week's Hero Open in Scotland. It is also the second event during that period sponsored by Cazoo, the UK’s leading online car retailer, following the Cazoo Open at the Celtic Manor resort won by Nacho Elvira.

The venue

A European Tour Destination, London Golf Club boats two courses - the Heritage and the International - which have both featured on in previous events on the European Tour.

The Cazoo Classic will be played on the Jack Nicklaus designed Heritage Course, which is a 7,802 yard par 72 that places a premium on accuracy due to dramatic tee shots and greens guarded by both cavernous bunkers and water.

The Heritage features a classic par four finishing hole: A dog leg protected by water on the left and trees on the right, in addition to a raised green.

The Par three 11th hole was also the site of Andy Sullivan’s viral ‘Chase the Ace’ challenge.

A rich history as host

London Golf Club boasts a rich history of hosting elite professional events, beginning in 2008 with the first of two back-to-back editions of the European Open at the Kent venue. Home favourite Ross Fisher emerged victorious in their first hosting of the prestigious tournament, overcoming Sergio Garcia by seven shots.

Frenchman Christian Cévaër claimed the 2009 European Open on the Heritage Course, beating a star-studded field which included former World Number Ones Martin Kaymer, Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood.

In 2014, London Golf Club’s International Course hosted the Volvo World Match Play where Finn Mikko Ilonen triumphed 3&1 over his Scandinavian counterpart, Henrik Stenson of Sweden, in the final

It has also been a popular stop on the Legends Tour in years past, hosting the 2018 and 2019 editions of the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship – won by Philip Golding and Phillip Price respectively.

EDGA

Coinciding with the European Tour event is also the fourth EDGA (European Disabled Golf Association) event in a row: The EDGA Cazoo Classic.

The event is one of five 36-hole tournaments set for this season, which will see golfers taken from the World Rankings for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD) take up the opportunity to tackle the same course set-up as the European Tour professionals.

England’s Kipp Popert won last week’s title in impressive style with a final round 66, and he will be part of the same field of eight players who are set to compete this week and next. The top eight players from across the two groups of players will qualify for the EDGA Dubai Finale to be staged at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai at Jumeirah Golf Estates in November.

Players to watch

David Law impressed for a third consecutive week in a row at the Hero Open in St. Andrews, and heads to London Golf Club in search of a maiden victory after a tie for fourth in Scotland – which followed a tie for 15th at the ISPS HANDA World Invitational and 18th at the Cazoo Classic.

But he’s not the only man searching for that first win after some consistent recent performances. Masahiro Kawumura finished fifth at the Cazoo Open, tied third at the ISPS HANDA World Invitational, and carded a final round 64 at Fairmont St. Andrews to end the Hero Open in a tie for 15th.

Meanwhile, American pair Sihwan Kim and Chase Hanna head to the Cazoo Classic with two top tens in recent weeks. For Hanna, it’s been a trio of sixth place finishes. The first came at the Challenge Tour’s Euram Bank Open, with further back-to-back top tens at both the Cazoo Open and Hero Open. For Kim, a missed cut in Ireland sits in between tie for 10th at both the Cazoo Open and last week’s Hero Open.