The DP World Tour heads to Hillside Golf Club in Southport this week for the Cazoo Classic, the third event of a six-week UK swing.
Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre, fresh from extending his run of making cuts in Major Championships to ten in a row at The 150th Open, is in the field alongside this year’s Betfred British Masters winner Thorbjørn Olesen and Sweden’s Marcus Kinhult, who won at Hillside when it last hosted a Tour event in 2019.
If you haven’t already, you can sign up now to the official Fantasy Game of the DP World Tour and submit your six-man team before round one on Thursday: https://fantasy.dpworldtour.com/.
Favourite – Robert MacIntyre
The Scot arrives at Hillside with reason for optimism after a closing 68 at The Open Championship on St Andrews’ Old Course saw him finish his campaign at seven under and in a tie for 34th place.
MacIntyre has fond memories of his last visit to this week’s venue after he finished in a tie for second at the 2019 Betfred British Masters hosted by Tommy Fleetwood on his way to winning the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award that season.
Back inside the top 100 on the Official World Golf Ranking, he will be confident he can challenge for a second Tour title after his debut victory at the Cyprus Showdown in November 2020.
Form horse – Thriston Lawrence
The South African is enjoying a memorable season, having become the first-ever winner of the DP World Tour era in November’s Joburg Open.
Victory in the first event of the Open Qualifying Series saw him qualify for his first Major Championship, and the 25-year-old impressed on debut as a blemish-free three-under-par 69 in the final round saw him finish in a tie for 42nd at the Home of Golf.
Since his historic victory on home soil, Lawrence has since registered four top-ten finishes, most recently at the Horizon Irish Open where he finished solo third to rise to 11th in the DP World Tour Rankings in Partnership with Rolex.
Wild card – Marcus Kinhult
Kinhult may have missed his last three cuts, but the talented Swede has two top tens to his name so far this season and is sure to be buoyed by a return to a venue where he claimed his maiden Tour title.
The 25-year-old was lost for words after he birdied the last two holes to win the 2019 Betfred British Masters at Hillside by one shot over defending champion Eddie Pepperell, Matt Wallace and MacIntyre.
After he missed out on featuring over the weekend at the Genesis Scottish Open by just one shot, Kinhult will be eager to demonstrate how his game is well suited to the challenge links golf provides.
