Danny Willett is looking forward to following in the footsteps of some of the European Tour’s most iconic names as he assumes the hosting duties for the 2021 Betfred British Masters at The Belfry from Wednesday May 12 to Saturday May 15.
The 33-year-old Englishman, who won the 2016 Masters Tournament at Augusta National, takes over hosting duties from reigning European Number One Lee Westwood as the tournament returns to one of European golf’s most historic venues for the first time in 13 years.
Since the Betfred British Masters was restored to the European Tour’s International Schedule in 2015 it has been hosted by some of British golf’s leading players, starting with Ian Poulter at Woburn, Luke Donald at The Grove (2016), Westwood twice at Close House (2017 and 2020), Justin Rose at Walton Heath (2018) and Tommy Fleetwood at Hillside (2019).
Willett continues that trend with the seven-time European Tour winner having already added some of golf’s most prestigious titles to his impressive CV, including his maiden Major Championship four years ago and two Rolex Series events, the DP World Tour Championship in 2018 and the BMW PGA Championship in 2019.
Betfred, the UK based bookmakers, will be the title sponsor of the tournament for the third consecutive year, and host Willett is hoping to help extend the event’s reputation as one of the most popular on the European Tour schedule.
“I’m very excited to be hosting the Betfred British Masters at a very iconic European venue in The Belfry. It’ll be a real honour.” said Willett. “We’ve had some great hosts and some great golf courses, it’s nice to see some of the best courses in Britain that people may not have had the chance to play on.
“I’ve wanted to do it ever since the first one in 2015. I thought the guys hosting it and having their say on a few things was a great idea. I am probably one of the ‘older’ players on Tour having been here for 11 years, so it’s a real honour to be able to host an event.
“We’re a very fortunate sport right now and companies like Betfred are still keen to get involved and support these events, we’re excited for them to be a part of the British Masters once again next year.”
The Betfred British Masters will return to The Belfry after a 13-year absence, with the Sutton Coldfield venue last hosting the event in 2008 after a run of three consecutive years. It has hosted 17 European Tour events since 1979 and welcomed the Tour back for the first time in 12 years with the staging of the ISPS Handa UK Championship in August 2020, won by Denmark’s Rasmus Højgaard.
The Belfry is also a four-time host venue of The Ryder Cup, including in 1985 when a combined European team famously defeated the United States for the first time, as well as 1989, 1993 and most recently in 2002.
“The Belfry is only an hour away from me, in terms of where I’m from it’s relatively local,” added Willett. “I played here in the UK Swing when the European Tour restarted in August and it was a great host venue for the UK Championship. It really is an iconic venue for the European Tour and for Europe and The Ryder Cup.
“We’ve seen some great matches over the years and some great finishes on that 18th hole, and I’m sure we’ll have another exciting finale next year.”
