Rory McIlroy is favored to win the British Masters, which begins on Thursday in Northern England. It is a little surprising that McIlroy is favored considering how poorly he has played recently. McIlroy admitted about a month ago that he has been playing hurt and I have been going against him on a regular basis in golf matchups. McIlroy is listed with odds of +650, while Sergio Garcia is the second choice at odds of +1050. Let’s look at this event, odds and predictions.
British Masters Odds
Rory McIlroy +650
Sergio Garcia +1050
Alex Noren +1550
Bernd Wiesberger +2050
Lee Westwood +2050
Matthew Fitzpatrick +2550
Shane Lowry +2550
Eddie Pepperell +3050
Ian Poulter +3050
Tyrrell Hatton +3050
Chris Wood +4050
Martin Kaymer +4050
Richie Ramsay +4050
Ross Fisher +4050
Alexander Levy +5050
Andy Sullivan +5050
David Horsey +5050
David Lingmerth +5050
Fabrizio Zanotti +5050
George Coetzee +5050
Haotong Li +5050
Lucas Bjerregaard +5050
Paul Dunne +5050
Russell Knox +5050
Dylan Frittelli +6050
Kiradech Aphibarnrat +6050
Scott Hend +6050
Haydn Porteous +7050
Richard Sterne +7050
Victor Dubuisson +7050
Dean Burmester +8050
Graeme McDowell +8050
Thongchai Jaidee +8050
Odds Analysis
Rory McIlroy +650
I think Rory is an excellent player but he admitted over a month ago that he has been playing hurt and that he won’t be at full strength until after he takes some time off. He won’t be playing in the Final Series as he will rest up for next year but he is still going to play a couple more events this year including this one. I just can’t see Rory winning this one playing at less than full strength. His last three starts are a 34th, a missed cut and a 58th.
Sergio Garcia +1050
Sergio played well at the TOUR Championship, as he finished tied for 10th. He was 2nd in driving accuracy and greens in regulation in that event. He finished second at the 2014 Open at Hoylake so he has previous success in England. I think he should be favored over McIlroy in this event.
Alex Noren +1550
The defending champ has a lot of value at these odds. He has finished 6th, first and first in his last three tournaments in England. He also finished tied for 6th in last month’s European Masters so his form is good.
Bernd Wiesberger +2050
Wiesberger finished second to Noren last year in this event. He is coming off a tie for 9th in Switzerland and that form may continue over into this event.
Matthew Fitzpatrick +2550
He won this event two years ago and he won his last start at the European Masters in Switzerland. You can make a strong case that Fitzpatrick should be listed right with Garcia in terms of the odds, yet we are getting him at +2550.
Shane Lowry +2550
It is easy to like Lowy who has six top ten finishes in his last nine starts in England. He finished second in this event in 2015 and his recent form is solid.
Chris Wood +4050
My longshot this week is Wood who has played well in England in this past. He has finished in the top 25 in seven of his eight previous starts in England including a win in the 2016 BMW PGA Championship. He has three top 10 finishes this season.
Course: The Colt Course at Close House was opened in 2011 and it has been voted as one of the top 100 courses in the United Kingdom. It is a par 70 that measures 6,906 yards. The course is very hilly and it has a lot of undulations, plus it features two par 5’s and five par 4’s that measure under 400 yards, so birdies should be plentiful.
TV Coverage: Golf Channel
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