Golf expert Ben Coley fancies Hao-tong Li to win the British Masters, while there's also room in the staking plan for a European Ryder Cup winner. Recommended bets 2pts e.w. Hao-tong Li at 35/1 (1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) 2pts e.w. Chris Wood at 33/1 (1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) 1pt e.w. Padraig Harrington at 66/1 (1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6) 2pts win Thorbjorn Olesen at 28/1 Justin Rose is the latest to play host as the British Masters continues on its travels around England, this time to the much heralded Walton Heath in Surrey, just 25 or so miles south-east of Wentworth. Rose won this title at Woburn back in 2002 after a classic duel with Ian Poulter, and it goes down as one of his many career highlights. Not only was it the only tournament Rose won in the presence of his late father, Ken, but it remains his only success in England in a career which has taken him to all corners of the globe. Should Rose need any further incentive, a win or two-way share of second here will see him return to the top of the world rankings and he's had sufficient time to recover from helping Europe to Ryder Cup victory in Paris. He really ought to play well and at least threaten to take back that top spot he held so briefly. That said, his standing in the game owes more to his consistency than winning strike-rate and recent efforts on home soil have been underwhelming. Considering his quality, form figures of 50-25-38-12 at Wentworth are poor and his second place there six years ago is one of just four top-five finishes in 42 starts in England. Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari are of course respected, the latter having won the BMW PGA Championship nearby earlier this year and more recently starred at the Ryder Cup, after which the former finished second in the Dunhill Links. These wonderful ball-strikers play well most weeks these days and there's no reason that can't continue at Walton Heath, even if Fleetwood will have been disappointed not to win on Sunday. But a recent scouting trip to the course put Hao-tong Li towards the top of my shortlist and he gets the headline vote having since underlined his credentials. Li has been demonstrating clear signs of promise for several weeks now, sitting third at halfway in the Netherlands and fifth at the same stage in Portugal, before defying a slow start to climb from 90th to fifth through the final three rounds of the Dunhill Links. The pieces seem to be falling nicely into place for a late-season push and winning the team event at St Andrews last week won't hurt - picking up any kind of silverware at the home of golf is always significant. Li finished second in a US Open qualifier here at Walton Heath two years ago so he knows the course well and it was a real statement of intent to take time out to remind himself of the layout two days after a disappointing finish to the Portugal Masters. The 23-year-old is good friends with Rose and he's shown several times that he likes playing in England, where he registered a brilliant third in last year's Open and has played well without threatening in the BMW PGA Championship. Already a winner this season, beating Rory McIlroy to the Dubai Desert Classic title, Li looks to hold outstanding each-way claims at a course he knows a little better than some of those around him in the betting, and he won't fear anyone if playing his way into contention once more. Chris Wood ought to have won the KLM Open a few weeks ago, when Li's compatriot Ashun Wu instead secured his third European Tour title, but compensation could await in an event he's been looking forward to. Wood has long been able to raise his game on home soil, ever since a top-five finish in the Open Championship at Birkdale a decade ago, and the standout performance of his career so far came nearby at Wentworth. With that in mind, strong recent form elsewhere is particularly encouraging and I can forgive him last week's missed cut in Scotland, where cold, breezy conditions made life difficult for everyone. In the end, it was a slow start which cost Wood but I don't believe it's indicative of any real downturn in form, particularly as he finished off his third round with a real flourish. Prior to the Dunhill, he'd managed to defy a slow start with three rounds of 66 for 12th place in Portugal and again, his Thursday effort comes with a caveat - clearly, a clumsy error on the 72nd hole in the Netherlands hurt and it's no wonder he took a round or so to get it out of his system. Hopefully, Wood is now able to see the positives in all three runner-up efforts this season and he'll have this event earmarked as one which gives him the opportunity to put some Sunday disappointments behind him. "I just love traditional courses," he told Golf365's Matt Cooper earlier this year. "It’s such a pity we don’t play more of them. The British Masters going to Walton Heath is brilliant news. I can’t wait." Wood, whose last missed cut in England came back in 2011, has plenty in his favour and is fancied to go well. Chris Wood in action at the KLM Open Richie Ramsay has been third in the last two US Open qualifiers at Walton Heath and is considered after missing the cut by one last week, when selected at a big price. The same goes for Aaron Rai, medallist here in 2016, and both these accurate types should be on the radar of punters wishing to speculate. Of the youngsters looking to emulate Paul Dunne in getting off the mark in this event, Marcus Kinhult and Thomas Detry are on the shortlist along with Rai. Kinhult continued his solid run with 20th last week while Detry's sole professional win to date came in Suffolk and he struck the ball nicely with little reward at the Dunhill. However, I'm keen to side with winning experience in this prestigious event and it's Padraig Harrington and Thorbjorn Olesen who complete the staking plan. Harrington has three top-seven finishes in four starts since returning from a poor season in America, and I'm far from convinced the market has caught up with him yet. His record in the event is solid enough, he's won five titles at an almost one-in-ten strike-rate in October, and, more relevantly, these recent performances have been across a variety of courses and under vastly different conditions. Particular encouragement can be taken from his long-game - Harrington was eighth in greens hit last week having led that category in the KLM Open - but in truth everything is firing, hence rankings of second, 10th and eighth in the all-around in those three strong performances since the end of August. Given that he's remained capable of winning tournaments despite turning 47 recently, he looks worth sticking with having played as well as just about anyone in the field of late despite various Ryder Cup distractions. Padraig Harrington pictured in contention in Prague As for Olesen, his price can be explained by only one thing - a poor record in England. However, that doesn't factor in a victory alongside Lucas Bjerregaard in GolfSixes and he's bound to take inspiration from his friend's success last week. GolfSixes is clearly team silliness, but defending British Masters champ Dunne won it alongside Gavin Moynihan earlier this year and it shouldn't be totally dismissed as a small piece in a much bigger puzzle. With a major top-10 finish in Kent and victory in Scotland at the Dunhill Links, Olesen's otherwise ugly form figures in the UK should be put down to the specific courses he's played, particularly Wentworth, where he just cannot work out a way to score. Here at Walton Heath, where he qualified for the US Open earlier this year thanks largely to a morning 67 around the course used for the British Masters, there's reason to believe he can be a good deal more effective and at 28/1 I'm willing to pay to find out. Olesen's form since victory over Molinari in the Italian Open has been outstanding and he simply can't be the same price as the likes of Bjerregaard, Shane Lowry and Eddie Pepperell. He's a Ryder Cup player now and signed off with a stunning singles success over Jordan Spieth to add to the belief that he's ready to establish himself as a fixture inside the world's top 50. Combine that with the fact he's always been a killer front-runner and the odds quoted about Olesen winning his seventh title as a professional are just too big, hence the win-only bet in an event likely to go to one of the top dozen or so in the market. So happy for you @LBjerregaard!! It takes a good player to win the #DunhillLinks 😉🇩🇰 https://t.co/hR5NSOco7y — Thorbjørn Olesen (@Thorbjornolesen) October 7, 2018<doc-sep>Eddie Pepperell will take a three-shot lead into the final day of the British Masters as he seeks the second European Tour title of his career – and with it a different Masters appearance next April. Pepperell produced a third round of 71 at Walton Heath to finish nine under par, with fellow Englishman Jordan Smith, Sweden’s Alexander Björk, American Julian Suri and France’s Julien Guerrier all six under. A victory on Sunday would take Pepperell into the world’s top 35 and almost certainly secure a Masters debut in 2019. The top 50 at the end of the year are guaranteed a place in the first major of the year at Augusta National in April. The 27-year-old from Oxford began the day with a three-shot lead and was four clear when he holed from 14 feet for an eagle on the par-five 11th, with playing partners Smith and Matt Wallace remarkably also doing the same. Smith also birdied the 12th after Pepperell three-putted and another birdie on the 15th took Smith within two shots of the lead, only for him to immediately drop a shot on the next. Pepperell was ranked outside the world’s top 500 as recently as May last year but won his maiden European Tour title in Qatar in February and followed a runners-up finish in the Scottish Open with a tie for sixth in the Open seven days later, making a closing 67 at Carnoustie despite being hungover. “I remember feeling really comfortable with the lead in Qatar and I felt comfortable out there today,” Pepperell said. “I didn’t see any shots that frightened me and it’s about time I kicked on and won another event. 00:33 Eddie Pepperell's spectacular hole-in-one at the British Masters – video “It would have been nice to have holed a few putts on the back nine and gave myself more of a lead but I’m confident I can shoot three or four under on Sunday and make everyone else’s life more difficult.” Asked about the prospect of winning a prestigious title on home soil, Pepperell added: “When you are leading any golf tournament it’s pretty special but I’m having a hard time distinguishing this one from any other because I’m so immersed in the event. “But ask me that in 24 hours when hopefully I will have the trophy and I’ll be ecstatic.” Ryder Cup star Tommy Fleetwood is seven shots off the pace after rebounding from a 77 on Friday with a 70, while teammate and tournament host Justin Rose is another stroke adrift following a 69. A top-two finish on Sunday would see Rose reach the top of the world rankings for the second time this season, the 38-year-old having spent two weeks as No 1 in September. “That hasn’t actually been on my mind,” Rose said. “It’s going to be tough to get there as I’ve got a lot of points to defend, but I’ve just got to focus on playing well. “I got there with it being a by-product of good play and I’m going to have to get back there the same way. You can’t force it.”<doc-sep>
Need help with your British Masters fantasy picks? Don’t worry, our fantasy golf expert Matthew Beedle has you covered with a run down of the big names, value for money players and sleeper picks for the European Tour event at Walton Heath. There are prizes up for grabs every week courtesy of Teeofftimes.co.uk, so it’s never too late to register. And the top three winners at the end of the season will be kitted out in the latest FootJoy gear. So what are you waiting for? Head over to our Fantasy Golf page and get choosing! But before you do that, read who our Fantasy Golf expert is putting in his team this week… British Masters fantasy picks This week the European Tour heads to Walton Heath where Justin Rose plays host for this year’s British Masters. Paul Dunne won the 2017 event in tremendous fashion, chipping in on the 72nd hole to record a three shot victory over Rory McIlroy. If you’re superstitious it might be worth staying away from Rose if you would like success from this week’s event as the form for last three British Masters hosts reads T33-MC-T15, not the best if you want to be challenging for first place. The aim in this year’s game is to pick the right players to match the RankBuster. This week’s is set at 188 so who can you fit in your team to beat it? Here are my British Masters fantasy picks. Francesco Molinari Fantasy Rank: 3 Following a week off after winning all five of his Ryder Cup games the Italian returns to the course this week. Molinari has missed just one cut in his last nine starts and in that run has won twice and finished inside the top 10 on three other occasions. Eddie Pepperell Fantasy Rank: 8 Pepperell enters the British Masters coming off one of the best seasons of his career which has included five tops 10 finishes and a win at the Qatar Masters. The Englishman struggled at the Alfred Dunhill Links in tough conditions last week but three top 10 finishes in his last four starts makes it hard to ignore Pepperell. Hao Tong Li Fantasy Rank: 13 Tipped by many to play well this week after a great tied for 5th finish at the Dunhill Links last week. Prior to last week’s event he has finished T24 and T27. Brandon Stone Fantasy Rank: 22 Just like our betting tipster Keel Timmins I fancy the South African to gain some success at Walton Heath this week. Stone took five weeks after the PGA Championship where he finished 12th. Since his return he has had a pair of top ten finishes on the Sunshine Tour and at last week’s Dunhill Links. Nacho Elvira Fantasy Rank: 30 The Spaniard was back in form last week with a T10 finish after he failed to finish at the Portugal Masters and missed the cut at KLM Open. Before his missed cut he finished 4th at the European Masters, T18 at the Czech Masters and T24 at the Scandinavian Masters and will be hoping to back last week’s good finish up. Robert Karlsson Fantasy Rank: 115 The Swede is a massive long shot and a major sleeper coming into the event but he has finished inside the top 15 in his last two British Masters starts, albeit on different courses. Playing Karlsson allows you to play higher value players and should the gamble pay off you will gain valuable points on your competitors. Click here to pick your British Masters fantasy picks