A big week is in store at Woburn for the return of the British Masters

British Masters supported by Sky Sports
Woburn Golf Club, Marquess Course (Woburn, England)
Purse:  £3,00,000 

This week the European Tour sees the return of the British Masters, which last appeared on the schedule in 2008.  It was about time the prestigious event returned to the golfing calendar.  The UK, especially England, needs more European Tour events and the addition of this week's event is certainly a start.  Woburn GC is a tree-lined gem that all the players will enjoy.  I, for one, love tree-lined courses because of the serenity and visual appeal.  Pre-tournament reviews of the course are that it is playing long due to rain earlier in the week, but the greens are in immaculate condition.  Players will be wearing out long irons so longer hitters might have an advantage this week.  The event is being played on the Marquess Course, which measures 7,150 yards and is a par 71.

Out of the field of 120 players, 48 are British (35 Englishmen, 7 Scotsmen, 3 Northern Irishmen, 3 Welshmen).  The English fans always come out and support in big numbers so this week should be stellar in all aspects.  With Sky Sports promoting the event, it will reach a wider audience.

Nick Dougherty, a three-time European Tour winner and Sky Sports golf analyst, will be mic'd up during competition, which will be a first in golf television history.  He will speak to Sky Sports announcers during his round at various points.  Dougherty is paired with two young and talented Englishmen, Eddie Pepperell and Tyrrell Hatton.  The 33-year-old Englishman finished T27 last week at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, his best finish on the main tour since 2010.  He'll be looking to continue that good play this week and also at next month's European Tour Final Stage of Qualifying School in Spain.  He has also signed a deal to play with Lynx Golf clubs.

Ian Poulter, Woburn's touring professional, is the host this week.  The British Masters will then be hosted by three other English players: Luke Donald, Justin Rose, and Lee Westwood.  These players, like Poulter, will be able to choose the host course.  It should be a fantastic week on this historic course.  There are only two events left in the "regular season" (this week and the Portugal Masters next week) and four Final Series events, so that will only add to the excitement of the week.

US TV Times (Eastern Standard Time)

Thursday: 7:00 AM-12:00 PM (Golf Channel)
Friday: 7:30 AM-10:00 AM (Golf Channel)
Saturday: 8:00 AM-11:00 AM (Golf Channel)
Sunday: 8:00 AM-12:00 PM (Golf Channel)

Notables participating in Final Qualifying for The Open Championship on June 30

*There are three qualifying spots available from each site

Gailes Links (Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland)

Notables:

Lloyd Saltman
Matias Dominguez
James Byrne
Pierre Relecom
Alvaro Velasco
Scott Henry
Grant Forrest (amateur)
Craig Lee
Andrew McArthur
Daniel Im
Paul Dwyer
Sam Walker
Peter Whiteford
Duncan Stewart
Maarten Lafeber
Garrick Porteous
Jamie McLeary
Andrew Oldcorn
Gareth Wright
Terry Pilkadaris
Scott Jamieson
Greig Hutcheon
Shiv Kapur
Callum Macaulay
Rhys Enoch
Rhys Davies
Ewen Ferguson (amateur)
Joakim Lagergren
Jack Doherty
Elliot Saltman
George Murray
Paul McKechnie
Kevin Phelan
Carlos Del Moral
Manuel Trappel
Vijay Singh
Ryan Fox

Hillside (Hillside, Southport, England)

Notables:

Dale Whitnell
Luke Goddard
Matthew Fitzpatrick
Pelle Edberg
Jordan Niebrugge (amateur)
Paul Streeter
Alan Dunbar
Gavin Moynihan (amateur)
Paul Howard
Merrick Bremner
Martin Rominger
David Coupland
Michael McGeady
John Singleton
Philip Archer
Jimmy Mullen (amateur)
Jordan L Smith
Ruaidhri McGee
Jack Senior
Todd Sinnott
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano
Marcus Armitage
Matthew Cort
John Parry
Simon Wakefield
Jason Scrivener
Scott Arnold
Jamie Howarth
Tom Whitehouse
Ryan Ruffels
Peter Baker
George Woolgar
Scott Drummond
Tom Lewis


Royal Cinque Ports (Deal, Kent, England)

Notables:

Mark Laskey
Gregory Bourdy
Jason Barnes
Paul Broadhurst
Estanislao Goya
Chris Paisley
Wade Ormsby
Steven Tiley
Raymond Russell
Robert Coles
Zane Scotland
Matt Ford
Jamie Elson
Florian Fritsch
Lloyd Kennedy
Marco Penge (amateur)
Oliver Fisher
Max Orrin
Andrea Pavan
James Heath
Oliver Farr
Kristoffer Broberg
Neil Raymond
Benn Barham
William Harrold
Matt Haines
Justin Walters
Chris Gane
Matthew Southgate
Rikard Karlberg
Daniel Chopra
Callum Shinkwin
Martin Sell
Ben Evans
Andrew Marshall
Ross McGowan
Jason Levermore
Steven Brown
Chris Rodgers

Woburn (Little Brickhill, Milton Keynes, England)

Will Roebuck
Marcus Kinhult (amateur)
Chris Lloyd
Jamie Little
Steve Surry
Jack Harrison
Robert Rock
Jamie Moul
Colin Montgomerie
Daan Huizing
Scott Fallon
Daniel Gaunt
Dean Burmester
Adam Gee
Richard Green
Daniel Brooks
Oliver Bekker
Paul Maddy
Brinson Paolini
Paul Dunne (amateur)
Florian Praegant
Thorbjorn Olesen
Nick O'Hern
Nathan Kimsey
Simon Griffiths
Ryan Evans
Kenneth Ferrie
Charlie Ford
Chris Doak
Billy Hemstock
Alexandre Kaleka
Thomas Detry (amateur)
Thomas Pieters
John Hahn
Mikael Lundberg
Retief Goosen
Nick Dougherty
Sam Hutsby
Dylan Frittelli
Robert Dinwiddie

Lyoness Open Powered by Greenfinity provides opportunities for various participants

Lyoness Open Powered by Greenfinity 

Diamond Country Club (Atzenbrugg, Austria)

Purse: €1,500,000

Yardage: 7,417 

Daniel Gaunt (Race to Dubai: 210th, Challenge Tour: 122nd)

The Australian-born Englishman finished T24 last week in the Nordea Masters.  The 38-year-old finished T32 at this event last year and seems to play well when he gets into a European Tour event.  Having Category 16 membership as a result of finishing 26th on the Challenge Tour last year, he'll get into 5-6 more main tour events for the remainder of the season.  He's already played four events on the main tour so far, with Sweden being the first cut he made.  I expect him to play well this week based off his play last week and his ability to play well in European Tour events when given the opportunity.

Andrew Marshall (Race to Dubai: 205th, Challenge Tour: 80th)

The 41-year-old Englishman made every cut on the Challenge Tour last season en route to finishing 38th on the money list.  Known as a great ball-striker, Marshall needs to putt a little better in events where the scoring is good.  His form leading into this event is not good, having missed his last three cuts.  He finished T14 at this event last season.  He shot a pair of 75s last week in Sweden to miss the cut.  Marshall should gain entry into 3-4 main tour events after this event but needs to play better on the Challenge Tour in order to make it inside the top 15 to get a main Tour card for next season.

Phillip Archer (Challenge Tour: 42nd)

The 43-year-old Englishman missed the cut last week in Sweden after shooting rounds of 75 and 77.  Archer has admitted to being more focused when playing on the main tour and will need to take advantage of that this week.  He finished T62 at this event last year.  He finished T3 on the Challenge Tour in early May but has missed his last three cuts.  Like Marshall, he needs to putt better in events like this where the scoring will be pretty good.  I have a feeling that this could be the three-time Challenge Tour winner's last season on the developmental circuit if he doesn't gain full Tour rights.  He needs to take advantage of the 5-6 more starts on the main tour and play well in the right events on the Challenge Tour.   

Andrew McArthur (Race to Dubai: 169th, Challenge Tour: 6th)

The 36-year-old Scotsman is playing some good golf at the moment.  He's made every cut this season and has already earned more euros on the main tour this season than he did all of last season (€47,459 versus €40,587).  He's played in four main tour events and has a similar category ranking as last season when he played in nine European Tour events.  I would be shocked if he didn't finish inside the top 15 on the Challenge Tour this season.  Actually, if he keeps playing well, he might make enough money to finish inside the top 110 on the main tour.  He's currently the sixth-ranked Scot in the Official World Golf Rankings at 258th.  I expect him to play well this week and continue his good form, despite missing the cut at this venue last year. 

Kenneth Ferrie 

The 38-year-old Englishman has played one European Tour event as a past champion (Open de Espana) and one Challenge Tour event (Challenge de Madrid) and missed the cut in both.  The 6'5" man from North East England is a past champion at the Lyoness Open, which he won in 2011.  His form has suffered over the past few seasons, but he did make the cut at the European Tour Qualifying School in November so that guarantees him entry into every Challenge Tour event and a small number of main tour events as well.  It'll be interesting to see what events Ferrie plays in the rest of the season.  He finished T25 at this event last season so I expect him to play decently well this week. 

Dougherty and Ferrie play limited schedules

At the end of 2007, Nick Dougherty was ranked 48th in the Official World Golf Rankings.  He won the lucrative Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and finished 11th on the European Tour's Order of Merit.  He was on the fringe of a Ryder Cup place the following year and was brought by Nick Faldo to Valhalla to give him a taste of what was destined for him.  The Liverpudlian was branded the next Faldo due to his prestigious amateur play.  Fast forward to now and Dougherty is ranked 1184th in the world and has only played in one Tour event this season.  

Kenneth Ferrie was ranked 68th in the world at the end of 2005.  He won the prestigious Smurfit European Open that year and finished 11th in the Order of Merit.  The man from North East England has struggled since, with few bright spots but did win the 2011 Austrian Golf Open, the most recent of his three European Tour titles.  The 6'5" Englishman lost his playing privileges in 2012 and spent 2013 on the Challenge Tour.  Since 2013, he's played in five main tour events and two Challenge Tour events.  

In terms of the rest of 2015, Dougherty looks like playing in at least two more main Tour events (BMW International Open and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, where he is a past champion of both events).  Ferrie will be playing in the Lyoness Open and European Open as a past champion of both events and will be eligible via his Challenge Tour ranking to play in the Madeira Islands Open (co-sanctioned with the Challenge Tour) in July.  There will also be opportunities for both to gain entry via invitations for Made in Denmark, D+D REAL Czech Masters, M2M Russian Open, and the Italian Open.  These tournaments generally have weak fields and would be prime opportunities for the two Englishmen to gain entry into those events.  But for both players, qualifying school in November will be their best chance to reclaim their full playing rights on the European Tour in 2016.

Garcia is the clear favorite in the Open de Espana, but he faces a tough challenge from the field

Open de España (May 14-17)

Course: Real Club de Golf El Prat (Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain)

Yardage: 7,326 yards

Purse: €1,500,000

The European Tour finally begins its European portion of the schedule with this week's Open de España.  The Madeira Islands Open (co-sanctioned with the Challenge Tour) was supposed to be the first event on European soil, but the tournament was canceled due to bad weather and rescheduled for July 30-August 2. Miguel Angel Jimenez is the defending champion, with world number seven Sergio Garcia and Ryder Cup stars Victor Dubuisson, Thomas Bjorn, and Francesco Molinari also taking part.  In addition to Jimenez and Garcia, the Spanish contingent also includes Pablo Larrazabal (El Prat is his home course), Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Alejandro Canizares, Alvaro Quiros, and Jose Maria Olazabal.  The course is projected to play firm and fast, which should make it a tough test for the field.  

This is Spain's only tournament on the schedule, a significant reduction from when the country staged six in 2011.  The economic recession has hit Spain particularly hard, but there are signs of improvement.  The fact that it's the only event in Spain makes the tournament extra special, especially for the home players.  The event was last held at El Prat in 2011, an event overshadowed by the death of Seve Ballesteros.  Thomas Aiken won at -10.  I would expect scoring to be around that number this week, due to the firmness of the course.  

Here are two of my dark-horse picks:

Paul Lawrie: Has only played five Tour events this season but seems to play well on tough courses.  His ball-striking is always good but his putting can be inconsistent at times.  If he can put four rounds together, the Scot could challenge for the title.  Lawrie finished T5 at this course in 2011.

Simon Dyson: The Englishman has many similarities with Lawrie.  He has had a disappointing season so far, with his best finish being T37.  He switched club companies and hasn't played since missing the cut at the Tshwane Open almost two months ago.  Dyson's ball-striking, much like Lawrie's, is always good.  But, like Lawrie, his putting is erratic.  Dyson is always a favorite on tough courses.  He, again like Lawrie, finished T5 at El Prat in 2011.

Notable groupings (Eastern Standard Time; first round/second round)

Alvaro Quiros, Thomas Pieters, Ross Fisher (2:00 AM/7:00 AM)

Thomas Bjorn, Pablo Larrazabal, Andy Sullivan (2:10 AM/7:10 AM)

Victor Dubuisson, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Tommy Fleetwood (2:20 AM/7:20 AM)

Nicolas Colsaerts, Peter Uihlein, Richie Ramsay (2:30 AM/7:30 AM)

Jose Maria Olazabal, Raphael Jacquelin, Peter Hanson (7:00 AM/2:00 AM)

Matteo Manassero, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, David Howell (7:10 AM/2:10 AM)

Francesco Molinari, Thomas Aiken, Sergio Garcia (7:20 AM/2:20 AM)

Y.E. Yang, Thorbjorn Olesen, Alejandro Canizares (7:30 AM/2:30 AM)

TV Coverage (Eastern Standard Time; Golf Channel)

Thursday: 5:30-7:30 AM, 9:30 AM-12:30 PM

Friday: 5:30-7:30 AM, 9:30 AM-12:30 PM

Saturday: 7:30-11:30 AM

Sunday: 7:00-11:30 AM

Paul Casey forfeits membership in 2015; Patrick Reed joins the Tour

13-time European Tour winner Paul Casey has forfeited his Tour membership for this season and will focus solely on the US PGA Tour.  Casey, 37, has been a European Tour member since 2001, the year he turned pro after playing collegiality at Arizona State University.  The Englishman's primary residence is Scottsdale, Arizona, and he has played the majority of his golf in the States since 2005.

There were two keys to this decision.  First, he is outside the top-50 in the world rankings and, as a result, is not exempt for majors and World Golf Championships, which count for both Tours.  In order to be members of the PGA and European Tours, players must play 15 and 13 events, respectively.  In 2014, Casey played 16 PGA Tour events and 13 European Tour events (some events counted for both tours).  Casey probably did not want go through all the traveling again.  My feeling is that once he gets himself back into the top-50, he will rejoin his home tour.  But it will not be until 2016.  Another reason for focusing on the PGA Tour this season is the fact that he became a father late last year and he wants to spend more time with his new son and fiancé, English TV presenter, Pollyanna Woodward.  The repercussions of this announcement include not being able to be selected for the Ryder Cup, unless he rejoins the Tour.  All potential European Ryder Cup players must be members of the European Tour.  Casey has played in three Ryder Cups (2004, 2006, and 2008).

Quotes from Casey regarding this situation:

"For as long as I have been a professional I have been a member of the European Tour, so it was a very tough decision," he said. "But I live in Arizona and playing in America full-time will enable me to spend more time at home with Pollyanna (his wife) and Lex (his son). That’s really become the focus for me."
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/golf/article-2912939/Paul-Casey-sacrifices-future-Ryder-Cup-selection-quitting-European-Tour-America.html#ixzz3P6JIS8nV
 
"For a long, long time now, I've been trying to play both the PGA Tour and the European Tour, and some years I've done it brilliantly, and other years I've failed miserably, and I just didn't want to keep putting myself in kind of a position where I'm struggling to fly around the world, play the numbers, keep my World Ranking at a certain number, and not being in the top 50 is really difficult to play both tours."

Read more: http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=105645 

Other news

In other news, four-time PGA Tour winner Patrick Reed will be joining the European Tour.  Reed, who has four wins since late 2013, was one of the few bright spots for the United States in last year's Ryder Cup.  Reed, 24, made a bold statement following his win at last year's WGC-Cadillac Championship when he said that he was "a top-5 player."  The quote seemed crazy at the time, but he is up to 14th in the world rankings and looks to be a potential star in the making.  Another American, Rickie Fowler, is likely to join the Tour in the coming years as well.  There could very well be a trend of top Americans joining Europe's tour.