Fleetwood flies the Tour flag for Britain at Hillside

lIKE the start of the cricket season, the moment the European Tour touches down on British soil is usually the cue for the sun to disappear and the heavens to open.

Thankfully the forecast is rather kinder this week for the coastal town of Southport and a tournament that has defied all the odds to take its place on the schedule.

last october, the British Masters was not so much in grave peril as being read the last rites. In the hard-nosed business world, there was no place for an event with no sponsor and a drain on the resources from the financial well of the Ryder Cup.

European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley was reluctantly prepared to consign it to history. After the news was revealed by

Sportsmail, a campaign of sorts got under way. ‘The British Masters is the sort of tournament we should be doing everything to keep, not lose,’ pleaded Justin Rose.

So began a remarkable road to recovery that has led to this week’s happy state of affairs. The event not only has a new title sponsor in Betfred, it has the perfect host in Tommy Fleetwood, and a venue in Hillside so good it is only because it lies adjacent to mighty Royal Birkdale that it is not held in greater renown.

Sure, problems remain. If you had a pick of dates, you wouldn’t choose the last week of this breathtaking football season, or go up against Chester’s flagship race meeting being staged an hour away.

Furthermore, the close proximity of the uS PGA Championship next week means that the only four members of the world’s top 50 taking part are the English quartet of Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Matt Wallace and defending champion Eddie Pepperell.

But if you are a fan of golf, rather than a fan of fame, there will be few tournaments to compare this year.

Sky’s excellent analyst Rich Beem summed it up on television on Sunday night, when fellow commentator Mark Roe was giving him some light-hearted stick for being on holiday in the Bahamas this week instead of Southport.

‘Honestly Roey, if it was purely up to me, I’d be at Hillside,’ he said, and you could tell he meant it.