Englishman Luke Donald is hoping to continue his fine recent record on UK soil this week when the British Masters supported by Sky Sports makes its long-awaited return.
Remarkably the 37 year old will be making his debut in the tournament, which takes place at Woburn Golf Club, having last been played at The Belfry in 2008.
Having triumphed in the BMW PGA Championship (twice) and the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open in recent years, Donald is looking forward to once again enjoying the support of the thousands of spectators expected at the Bedfordshire venue.
“It’s fun to play in front of 10,000 people or more,” said the former World Number One. “There's a certain level of focus that improves when you have that many people watching you and having that much support behind you. I enjoy the atmosphere, I enjoy the crowd support.
"Whenever I come back and play in the UK I always have great support, so it’s great to have another event back on the schedule."
Luke Donald
“It's great it's back on the schedule,” said the 23-time European Tour winner.
“It's great it's back on the schedule,” said the 23-time European Tour winner.
“It's a prestigious title and one that's been around The European Tour for a long time."
Lee Westwood
"Certainly I remember watching it on TV when it was back-to-back with the PGA Championship at Wentworth and watching Tony Johnstone, Christy O'Connor and Seve.
“In 2007 I remember I played well in the last round. I think I had the lead and ended up shooting 65 and winning by a few. That was good. The follow year I played solidly again and kept making long putts to stay in it. It was two good British Masters back-to-back.”
Like Donald, Westwood has given some thought to where he will take the tournament when he is its host.
“I’d like to see the tournament held in the north of England,” he said. “It's been a long time since anything has been held north of Birmingham, really. We have a lot of good golf courses and the golfing public up there are keen on golf and should be given the opportunity to go and watch top-quality golf.”
