Ryder Cup hopefuls Bernd Wiesberger, Victor Perez and 2016 Team Europe player Andy Sullivan are set to head up a strong field for the Cazoo Classic, which takes place at London Golf Club from August 12-15.
The Cazoo Classic will mark the final tournament of the European Tour’s UK Swing, concluding a run of events across all four nations of the United Kingdom - Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England.
Wiesberger already has eight European Tour victories under his belt, all of them coming in different countries, but the Austrian is yet to win on English soil.
His most recent win, at May’s Made in HimmerLand presented by FREJA, gave his chances of earning a Ryder Cup debut a significant boost as he currently sits just outside the automatic qualification spots on the European Points list.
A second win of the 2021 season would further increase the 35-year-old’s chances of moving into the picture for a place on Padraig Harrington’s European team at Whistling Straits.
“I’m looking forward to playing the Cazoo Classic,” said Wiesberger. “I’ve never played at London Golf Club before but I know it has a good pedigree of hosting big events with the European Open and the Volvo World Match Play Championship.
“I have had a little bit of a break since The Open after a busy first half of the year, so I’m excited to get back out competing and hopefully I can give the fans something to cheer about next week.”
Perez will also be making his first European Tour start since The Open at Royal St George’s and will be hoping to return to the form which earned him top five finishes in the Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers and the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play earlier this year.
“I’m excited about playing in England again next week,” said the Scotland-based Frenchman. “The fans were incredible at Royal St George’s and I know London Golf Club is not far away from there so I’m sure they will be incredibly supportive once again.
“It’s a golf course I’ve never played but I have heard good things about it and I’m hoping to get my game back on track as we reach an important part of the season.”
Sullivan will require a big push over the coming weeks if he is to move into contention for Ryder Cup qualification, but the Englishman has previous when it comes to hot streaks – his three victories in the space of ten months in 2015 earned him a debut on Darren Clarke’s European team at Hazeltine in 2016.
After impressing at The Open three weeks ago, the 34-year-old is excited about the opportunity to play in front of his home fans once again.
“It should be a great week at London Golf Club,” said Sullivan. “It’s been nice to have a run of events on UK soil and to play in front of the best fans in golf. It really gives you a boost and especially after a long time when we had no fans at all due to the pandemic.
“My game has been trending nicely and I feel like I’ve had a decent run of form in the last couple of months so hopefully that can translate into a good performance at the Cazoo Classic and maybe I can put myself in contention come Sunday.”
The Jack Nicklaus-designed Heritage Course at London Golf Club, a European Tour Destination, will play host to the European Tour for the first time since 2014.
London Golf Club boasts a rich history of hosting elite professional events, beginning in 2008 with the first of two back-to-back editions of the European Open at the Kent venue. Home favourite Ross Fisher emerged victorious in their first hosting of the prestigious tournament, overcoming Sergio Garcia by seven shots.
Frenchman Christian Cévaër claimed the 2009 European Open on the Heritage Course, beating a star-studded field which included former World Number Ones Martin Kaymer, Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood.
In 2014, London Golf Club’s International Course hosted the Volvo World Match Play where Finn Mikko Ilonen triumphed over his Scandinavian counterpart, Henrik Stenson of Sweden, in the final 3&1.
It has also been a popular stop on the Legends Tour in years past, hosting the 2018 and 2019 editions of the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship – won by Philip Golding and Phillip Price respectively.
