Justin Rose and Walton Heath Golf Club are set to host the 2018 British Masters. By Sam Tremlett
Rose To Host 2018 British Masters At Walton Heath
2013 US Open champion and Olympic Gold Medallist Justin Rose will host next year's British Masters at Walton Heath Golf Club in Surrey.
The classic heathland venue has two courses, both ranked in our top 100, and has hosted a number of professional events including the 1981 Ryder Cup, the European Open five times, the Senior Open in 2011 and US Open qualifying since 2005.
Related: Walton Heath Old Course Review
“I’m very excited to be hosting the British Masters supported by Sky Sports at Walton Heath in 2018,” said Rose.
“Walton Heath is a golf course I really, really enjoy playing, in fact I love it. I went back to Walton Heath in the summer just to ensure I wanted to take the tournament there and I had forgotten how good a golf course it is."
Rose goes on to say that Walton Heath "has got teeth but it is traditional and hopefully the players will really enjoy it. Hopefully we will assemble a strong field, get some good weather and we can host an amazing tournament next October."
In the past few years the tournament has been doing very well, especially last year hosted by Lee Westwood at Close House Golf Club.
Related: Walton Heath New Course Review
Big names like Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Alex Noren, Andy Sullivan, Tyrrell Hatton, Matthew Fitzpatrick, and Martin Kaymer all played in 2017 and the week concluded with a stunning 61 by Paul Dunne to claim the trophy.
It is now Rose's turn to host the tournament after Ian Poulter, Luke Donald, and Westwood hosted previous years, and European Tour Chief Executive Officer, Keith Pelley, is clearly ecstatic about this.
Pelley says, “We are very fortunate to have another incredible host for 2018 in Justin Rose who I am certain will build on the strong foundations already in place. Justin is a Major Champion, a former European Number One, a Ryder Cup player and the Olympic Champion, so his CV speaks for itself.”
No doubt, the 2018 British Masters, with Rose at the helm, and Walton Heath the setting, will be a brilliant tournament, although another 61 might be a bit too much to ask for.
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