Golf Blog

The British Masters has been dropped from this year’s European Tour schedule after the tournament’s sponsorship deal expired and no replacement was found.

The event, which has been staged at The Belfry for the last three years, is one of the Tour’s oldest events, having been staged every year since 1946.

The tournament had been scheduled for 17-20 September but the Austrian Open will now take its place.  This comes after news earlier in the year that

The English Open at St Mellion was also cancelled earlier in the year.  That was due to a construction project in the area of the course and the event is expected to return to the European Tour in 2011.  This event has not been staged since 2002 when Darren Clarke won.

The British Masters was first held at Stoneham Golf Club in 1946 and enjoyed a nomadic life before spending 10 years at Woburn from 1985-94.

England’s Peter Baker won with a tournament record 22 under par 266 at Woburn in 1993.

St Pierre in Monmouthshire also hosted the tournament on many occasions in the 1970s and early 80s.

Legends of the game such as England’s Tony Jacklin, Scotland’s Bernard Gallacher, Ireland’s Christy O’Connor Sr and Spain’s Seve Ballesteros, each recorded two wins at the event.

So, here’s hoping that we will see the return of The British Masters in 2010.