Luke Donald and Lee Westwood have confirmed they will join tournament host Ian Poulter in the field at Woburn when the British Masters supported by Sky Sports makes its return to the European Tour from October 8-11.
Since its return was announced in March, the tournament has proved a big hit with the public, with the opening round of the £3million tournament a complete ‘sell out’ following the ‘Sky Sports Thursday’ promotion, which offered 15,000 free tickets as part of the event’s aim to attract a new and existing audience to golf.
With tickets still on sale for the final three rounds, Donald and Westwood feature alongside Poulter on the event’s striking new promotional image, which was launched at key advertising sites around London.
And both players are looking forward to being part of the tournament, which was last played in 2008. Westwood finished runner up that year, losing a play-off to Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño at The Belfry, narrowly missing out on defending the title he won the previous year, when he finished five shots clear of Poulter.
“It is always great to play in England, and I’m delighted that we have finally got the British Masters back on the European Tour schedule,” said Westwood. “Woburn has always been one of my favourite courses, and I’ve got a good record round there, so hopefully I can do well again. It looks like it is going to be a very good field supporting the event on its return and I’m sure the British public will support it too, so it should be a great occasion.”
Meanwhile, Donald will be seeking to add the title to the three European Tour victories he has already achieved on British soil, in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in 2011 and 2012, and the 2011 Scottish Open at Castle Stuart.
The 37 year old, who finished tied 12th in the Open at St Andrews, is hoping the British public will continue to get behind the event.
He said: “I think most of the British players on Tour have been hoping to get more big events at home for a number of years, so to have the British Masters back on our schedule is really positive news. It’s going to tick a lot of boxes; we are playing at one of the great courses in England at Woburn, we have a strong prize fund, and we have the support of Sky Sports, so it’s shaping up to be a really good week.
“I think having the top British players involved as tournament hosts is a cool idea as well. We are seeing more of that on the European Tour with Rory in Ireland and Paul Lawrie with his own match play event in Scotland, and it seems to be working really well.”
Discounted advance tickets are now on general sale for the final three rounds. Any one day tickets, which can be used from Friday October 9 to Sunday October 11, cost £25 (£15 concession) before October 4. The full gate price is £30.
Adult season tickets (Friday – Sunday) cost £65 (£35 concession) before October 4. The full gate price for a season ticket is £75.
Woburn Golf Club will also host the Travis Perkins Masters on the European Senior Tour from September 4-6, and spectators can purchase combined tickets for both events.
Tickets can be purchased online via www.europeantourtickets.com or http://tickets.sky.com/Golf/British-Masters or via the European Tour ticket hotline 0800 023 2557.