2018 British Masters host venue announced

The 2018 British Masters will be held at Walton Heath with Justin Rose as the host, the European Tour has announced.

Rose follows in the footsteps of his English contemporaries Ian Poulter (2015), Luke Donald (2016) and Lee Westwood (2017) in hosting the event, which has gone from strength to strength since its return to the European Tour schedule.

“I’m very excited to be hosting the British Masters supported by Sky Sports at Walton Heath in 2018,” said Rose of the event, which will take place from October 11-14. “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.

“It 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.”

The Surrey venue, of course, is no stranger to staging big tournaments. It hosted the 1981 Ryder Cup, the 2011 Senior Open and five editions of the European Open from 1979 to 1991. Since 2005, it has also been the European Sectional Qualifier for the US Open.

On the announcement, European Tour CEO Keith Pelley said: “The British Masters has been hugely successful in attracting new audiences to golf over the past three years thanks largely to the support of Sky Sports and the commitment Ian Poulter, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood brought to the role of tournament host.

“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 No.1, a Ryder Cup player and the Olympic champion, so his CV speaks for itself. But he is also a wonderful ambassador for our game and we look forward to working with him across the next 12 months.”