British Masters Power Rankings

Eight of the top 10 English players in the world headline the field at the British Masters

The British Masters heads to Close House Golf Club for the first time in the tournament’s history dating back to 1946. The event has been a European Tour staple until it came off the schedule from 2008-14. It’s now back to being one of the premier events on the schedule and features past winners such as Greg Norman, Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo, just to name a few.

The Colt course at CHGC is a Scott Macpherson design that opened in 2011. Macpherson’s architectural resume also lists two of the top courses in New Zealand: Wellington Golf Club will host next month’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship and has hosted the PGA Tour of Australasia’s New Zealand Open since 2014.

The Colt course offers spectacular views of the Tyne Valley at its high points and is ranked as one of the United Kingdom’s top 100 courses. It’s a standout in the northeast of England, which is not as well known for producing elite golf courses as the rest of the nation.

Colt is one of the shorter courses on the European Tour measuring at 6,906 yards for a par of 70. There’s not much out there as far as describing how the course will play, but the general consensus is it’s a hilly track that stays fairly true to the original lay of the land.

Weather this weekend is expected to be cold and windy. Given that it’s a new course for the field to take on, I see talent winning out with an advantage going to whoever can control his ball. A wet course may also favor the long ball hitter.

Four of the world’s top 20 and 25 of the top 100 are assembled at the British Masters, which is the week’s top stroke play event opposite the Presidents Cup in New York.

There are a lot of strong candidates to fill my rankings, but I’ve got it whittled down to 10. Check it out: