The British Masters is a golf tournament which was previously known as the Dunlop Masters and was held every year from 1946 to 2004. It returned to the schedule in 2015 at Woburn and has been an annual fixture since then.
Last year, Eddie Pepperell won by two strokes over Alexander Bjork when the event was held at Walton Heath Golf Club. This year’s British Masters golf tournament is hosted by Tommy Fleetwood and it will be held on May 9-12, 2019 at Hillside Golf Club in Southport, England.
Here are the odds to win the 2019 British Masters. Odds taken from Bovada as of 5/8/19:
Players | Odds |
---|---|
Tommy Fleetwood | +800 |
Tyrrell Hatton | +1800 |
Eddie Pepperell | +2000 |
Joost Luiten | +2500 |
Matt Wallace | +2500 |
Andy Sullivan | +3300 |
Jordan Smith | +3300 |
Lee Westwood | +3300 |
Ryan Fox | +4000 |
Victor Dubuisson | +4000 |
Romain Langasque | +4500 |
Tom Lewis | +4500 |
Benjamin Herbert | +5000 |
Bernd Weisberger | +5000 |
Fabrizio Zanotti | +5000 |
Richard Sterne | +5000 |
Ross Fisher | +5000 |
Sean Crocker | +5000 |
Thomas Detry | +5000 |
Adrian Otaegui | +6600 |
Who Are The Favorites?
Tommy Fleetwood is the golf betting favorite to win the 2019 British Masters. The world’s #16 ranked golfer in the Official World Golf Rankings is coming off a T2 in his last outing at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and has three Top 10 finishes in his last six PGA Tour starts. As for his British Masters Form, Fleetwood is T13, T4 and T9 in his last three starts. The 28-year old from Englishman also has six Top 15 finishes in the Dunhill Links, one of the richest golf tournaments in Europe.
Fleetwood is hosting the 2019 British Masters at Hillside Golf Club in his hometown of Southport and in the history of the British Masters, no host has ever won the tournament. But due to the absence of big names, especially Fleetwood’s fellow British golfers like Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy, there may be a chance that Fleetwood breaks that record.
Tyrrell Hatton’s recent form isn’t one you’d like from a favorite. He missed the cut in two out of his last four PGA Tour starts. Although he was a T9 at the WGC-Dell Match Play in the third of those starts, his most recent outing was a T56 at the Masters in Augusta. However, when you take a look at his recent form in the British Masters, Hatton is a T13-T9-T8 in his last three outings. Hatton’s also been T4,T2 and T9 at the Scottish Open, T4 in his last Irish Open and 1-1-2 in his last three starts at the Dunhill Links.
Eddie Pepperell is the defending champion of the British Masters. The world’s 37th ranked golfer in the Official World Golf Rankings is coming off a T16 outing at the RBC Heritage last month. Pepperell was also a T3 at THE PLAYERS Championship, his best result in six PGA Tour starts this year. Pepperell was also a T6 at Carnoustie in last year’s Open, was formerly a T2 and T4 at the Scottish Open and once lost a playoff in the Irish Open at Royal County Down.
Joost Luiten is the 72nd ranked player in the Official World Golf Rankings. He’s started thrice in the PGA Tour this year and his best finish wasa T10 at the WGC Mexico last February. Luiten has won before at Kennemer and at the Oman Open. However, he only has two Top 20s in 22 British links starts so that’s a red flag.
Matt Wallace has made 8 starts in the PGA Tour and has made the cut in six. However, his MCs came in his last two starts which might tell you about his current form. His best finish in those six tournaments was a T6 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Wallace had two Top 20’s on home soil last season: a T20 at Wentworth and a T16 at the 2018 British Masters at Walton Heath. Wallace was also a T28 at Dunhill Links last year but is 0-2 in Ireland and 2-5 in Scotland.
Who Wins?
Conspicuously absent in the 2019 British Masters Field are Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy, Ian Poulter, Paul Casey, Luke Donald and Graeme McDowell. Likewise, Fleetwood’s Ryder Cup partner Francesco Molinari and Ryder Cup teammates Sergio Garcia, Jon Rahm, Alex Noren and Thorbjorn Olesen. The reason behind this is that the 2019 British Masters falls just before the PGA Tour’s 2nd Major in the PGA Championship at Bethpage which is slated for May 16-19, 2019.
So while Fleetwood and the other favorites like Tyrrell Hatton, Eddie Pepperell and Matt Wallace have the edge due to the lack of big names in the 2019 British Masters Field, there is a chance that they may be looking too far ahead knowing that after playing at the 2019 British Masters, they have to jump to a chartered plane to New York on Sunday. Tough schedule, really.
Obviously, Fleetwood is the top golfer in this event and it’s not just because he’s hosting it that I’m not backing him. Although he says his focus is on track, he may be looking ahead at the PGA Championship, especially after finishing 2nd in the 2018 U.S. Open. You can track the 2019 British Masters leaderboard here.
I’m backing Tyrrell Hatton here because even though he missed the cut in half of his last four tournaments played, his last two British Masters yielded Top-10 finishes. That’s the most consistent among the top favorites for this year. Prediction: Tyrrell Hatton
Top 5 Finish Bet
Alternately, here are the odds to Finish in the Top 5 of the 2019 British Masters. Odds also taken from Bovada as of 5/8/19:
Players | Odds |
---|---|
Tommy Fleetwood | +160 |
Tyrrell Hatton | +325 |
Eddie Pepperell | +350 |
Joost Luiten | +450 |
Matt Wallace | +450 |
Andy Sullivan | +600 |
Jordan Smith | +600 |
Lee Westwood | +600 |
Ryan Fox | +700 |
Victor Dubuisson | +700 |
Romain Langasque | +800 |
Tom Lewis | +900 |
Benjamin Herbert | +900 |
Bernd Weisberger | +900 |
Fabrizio Zanotti | +900 |
Richard Sterne | +900 |
Ross Fisher | +900 |
Sean Crocker | +900 |
Thomas Detry | +900 |
Adrian Otaegui | +1200 |
If you can’t decide on who you think is going to win the 2019 British Masters, then of course you can pick those players to finish in the Top 5. The usual suspects in Fleetwood, Hatton, Pepperell, Luiten and Wallace are good picks here but at a very small yield. Here are two names which we think are worth considering for the Top 5:
Jordan Smith finished a T5 at the recent Volvo China Open and was a T7 at the Maybank Championship two tournaments prior to that. Smith was also a T11 in the Qatar Masters so I think he brings good form heading to this tournament.
Andy Sullivan is also having a fine start to his European Tour. While the Englishman didn’t start in China, he was a T21 at the Trophee Hassan II and T7 at the Maybank Championship and T11 at the Qatar Masters. Sully also has two T6 in the Irish Open and another T6 in the Scottish Open.
Prediction: Go with Jordan Smith and/or Andy Sullivan to finish in the Top 5. Both are priced neatly at +600.