British Masters dropped from European Tour Schedule

The British Masters that was won by Spainard Gonzalo Fdez-Castano at the Belfry last year has been dropped from the 2009 European Tour schedule

Gonzalo Fdez-Castano at the 2008 British Masters at the Belfry

The British Masters, one of the Tour's oldest events, having been staged every year since 1946, has been dropped from this year's European Tour schedule after the tournament's sponsorship deal expired and no replacement was found.

The tournament had been scheduled for 17-20 September at The Belfry; the Austrian Open will move from 11-14 June to take its place.

The English Open at St Mellion was also cancelled earlier in the year. Due to a construction project in the area of the course and the event is expected to return to the European Tour in 2011.

The British Masters was first held at Stoneham Golf Club in 1946 and enjoyed a nomadic life before spending 10 years at Woburn from 1985-94.

England's Peter Baker won with a tournament record 22 under par 266 at Woburn in 1993.

St Pierre in Monmouthshire also hosted the tournament on many occasions in the 1970s and early 80s.

Legends of the game such as England's Tony Jacklin, Scotland's Bernard Gallacher, Ireland's Christy O'Connor Sr and Spain's Seve Ballesteros, each recorded two wins at the event.

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Thomas Patrick Clarke
Sports Digital Editor

Tom Clarke joined Golf Monthly as a sub editor in 2009 being promoted to content editor in 2012 and then senior content editor in 2014, before becoming Sports Digital Editor for the Sport Vertical within Future in 2022. Tom currently looks after all the digital products that Golf Monthly produce including Strategy and Content Planning for the website and social media - Tom also assists the Cycling, Football, Rugby and Marine titles at Future. Tom plays off 16 and lists Augusta National (name drop), Old Head and Le Touessrok as the favourite courses he has played. Tom is an avid viewer of all golf content with a particularly in depth knowledge of the pro tour.