British Masters

Course: Woburn Golf and Country Club (Marquess course), Woburn, England
Yardage: 7214
Par: 72 (four par-fives)
Greens: Bentgrass

Weather Forecast

Best Players Last 10 Years

Past Winners:
2001 - Thomas Levet
2000 - Gary Orr
1999 - Bob May
1998 - Colin Montgomerie
1997 - Greg Turner
1996 - Robert Allenby
1995 - Sam Torrance
1994 - Ian Woosnam
1993 - Peter Baker
1992 - Christie O'Connor, Jr.

Outright plays (1.5 units):

Darren Clarke to win 10/1 e.w. @ Sporting Odds or Heathorns  [11/1 Easybets, 4 places]
Strong performance from Clarke last week earns his retention as a selection. Didn't impress on this course last year, but he is a streaky player and will fancy his chances against a weaker field. Acting as the banker bet with two more speculative selections to follow.

Ian Woosnam to win 33/1 e.w. @ William Hill [5 places option]
Woosie missed the cut last week after a 2nd round 84. But that can be discounted because of his temperament and the British weather. It is also clear that missed cuts do not prey too heavily on his mind. Following his last three missed cuts, he has finished 3rd (British Open), 6th (Malaysian Open) and 3rd (French Open) with the first two examples being in the following week. He won this event in 1994 on the Duke's course and finished 14th last year while struggling with his putting. His putting stats are much improved on last year and he could go close.

Lee Westwood to win 66/1 e.w. @ Sporting Odds
Definitely a speculative play. Westwood has missed all three cuts since returning to Europe after the Masters. But he missed the cut in the Volvo PGA last year, yet 8th here last year, having been in an excellent position to win, and he continued that form with 5th the following week in the English Open. Since then he has shown glimpses of his best form and if he can be encouraged by his reversal in form last year in this event, he may surprise this week.

72-hole plays (1.5 units unless stated):

Thomas Levet to beat Paul Casey -110 @ LuvBet
Levet may have the pressures of being defending champion and a repeat winner is as likely as across the pond, but there should be some renewed form from the Frenchman. He secured top-20 finishes in Portuguese and French Opens before missing his last two cuts. Casey is simply out of form. Played below expectations on the PGA Tour, missed his first two cuts in Europe and finished 75th last week.

Lee Westwood to beat Andrew Coltart +105 @ TattsBet [3 units]
Maybe form should not be considered when looking at Westwood, but Coltart is also opposable in that department. Since the Tour reached the Northern Hemisphere, his finishes read 80th, 49th, 60th, 59th, 6th, missed cut, 42nd, 56th. Apart from one week - the French Open - he is a shadow of the former Ryder Cup player. This will also be the sixth straight week that Coltart will be competing. Definitely siding with his brother-in-law!

Paul Lawrie to beat Nick Dougherty -110 @ BetInternet
Dougherty is another rising star who has not really lived up to expectations so far in Europe this season. True, he did finish 2nd in the Qatar Masters, but he has missed three of his last seven cuts with just four of twenty-two rounds under 70. Lawrie's game seems to be improving considerably this month and he looks the more consistent player at the moment.

Gary Orr to beat Ignacio Garrido -111 @ BetandWin
Successfully opposed Orr last week, but he is a former winner of this title (2000) when it was played on the Duke's course at Woburn. Expect another mid-table finish from Orr, which should be enough to beat Garrido who has never recovered his form of pre-Valderrama 1997 and has a very poor record in England. He finished 19th in the Volvo PGA last week, but his previous best in any English event since the 1998 British Masters (he finished 4th) had been 39th (1999 English Open).

Barry Lane to beat David Gilford -111 @ William Hill or BetandWin
Ten European Tour titles between these two, but the last one was in 1994! Fine 9th place finish last week ended a run of three poor events for Gilford, but siding with Lane who appears to be in the better form. His missed cut in Germany can be ignored following the way he failed to win the Benson & Hedges International three weeks ago, but he came back to secure a top-20 finish last week. Lane leads Gilford 3-1 in events this month and is teeing up for the fifth consecutive week whereas Gilford is doing so for the sixth time.

Phillip Price to beat Trevor Immelman -118 @ Centrebet [3 units]
Opposing Immelman who likely many others is playing for the sixth straight week this week and seems to have lost his game - probably more mental than technique - since his lost his huge lead in the French Open four weeks ago. With just two of his last fourteen rounds under 70, he is not in the same form as at Le Golf National. Also opposing him because of a very poor record in England. His record in England on the European Tour reads: mc, mc, mc, mc, 51st, 65th. This is also not a course for Immelman's attacking style of play. Price has secured top-20 finishes in two of his last three events and looks the better and fresher player.

Steve Webster to beat Trevor Immelman -111 @ William Hill
Last week's missed cut ended his fine of fine form, both this year and in England. In his previous four events he had secured two top-10 finishes and two further top-25 finishes, while he had finished in the top-10 in his previous three events in England. Missed the cut last year, but should be better prepared as a result for this demanding course.

Steen Tinning to beat Santiago Luna -111 @ BetandWin
Opposing the highly erratic Luna who lost his Tour Card and had to go to Qualifying School at the end of last year. Some decent finishes amongst the poor results this year, but he withdrew after an opening 78 last year and his best finish in nine events in England since the start of the 2000 season has been 45th. Tinning is much more consistent and shot four rounds of par or better last year.

Mid-point update:

Levet/Casey WON by 10
Westwood/Coltart WON by 6
Lawrie/Dougherty Leads by 3
Orr/Garrido Leads by 2
Lane/Gilford WON by 3
Price/Immelman Leads by 6
Webster/Immelman Trails by 2
Tinning/Luna Trails by 5

Clarke 53rd
Woosnam 53rd
Westwood 30th

Very good position in the matchups and I did like a lot this week. Three winners and had the cut line moved up one more, there would have been two more in the bag. Not so encouraging with the outrights though. Clarke is a frustrating character. Six-under-par today after 11 holes, he double-bogeyed the 12th for the second time and finished four-over for his last seven holes. Westwood appears to playing better, particularly with his irons, so hopefully he will provide something for me to cheer when I'm on-course on Sunday.

Final update:

Matchups: 6-2; +8.82 units

Lawrie/Dougherty WON by 5
Orr/Garrido WON by 7
Price/Immelman WON by 5
Webster/Immelman LOST by 4
Tinning/Luna LOST by 5

Clarke 76th
Woosnam 76th
Westwood 45th

Another good week with the matchups on the European Tour. No change in any of the matches over the weekend, so it meant a decent profit and more than enough to cover some very disappointing outright selections. Not much point cheering Westwood at the course, but following the Rose-Poulter-Price group made for a memorable day.