Golf Tips: Best bets for Tour Championship and British Masters

• With nothing to lose Bradley looks a fair price at 50/151.00

• Burns backed to continue good form at 12/113.00

• Scottish Ferguson a good fit for Belfry glory at 30/131.00

• Talented Australian is this week's biggest bet at 199/1200.00

• Key stats for players' form and the course info for both events

Tour Championship Tips and Predictions

Keegan Bradley one of three bets at East Lake

Steve Rawlings: "Accuracy off the tee is usually slightly more important than power here, although neither stat is of vital importance. The first two home 12 months ago, Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele, ranked third and first for Putting Average and Rory McIlroy ranked first for PA when he won two years ago.

"He also ranked second when winning five years ago and Tiger Woods topped the PA stats a year earlier, but Patrick Cantlay only ranked 13^th when he won in 2021 so a hot putter isn't absolutely essential and the main stat to concentrate on at East Lake has always been Greens In Regulation...

"I'm by no means a fan of this format and stakes are modest, but I've backed last week's winner, Keegan Bradley, who bids to become the third BMW Championship winner in four years to double up in this event and I'm also happy to chance Wyndham Clark modestly at a big price.

"Bradley only trails by four and although he's never fared brilliantly here, he won the first of his two BMW titles at the Ross designed Aronimink back in 2018. The US Ryder Cup captain will feel as though he has absolutely nothing to lose this week and I thought 50.0 was fair."

Burns to shine at East Lake

Dave Tindall: "Sam Burns shot a second-round 63 on the way to fifth place in the St. Jude Championship and last week in Colorado he came home in 65 blows to tie for second. He now has just six players in front of him on the starting grid and, of course, that becomes four if we play him in the market with Scheffler and Schauffele taken out.

"Burns has three strokes to make up on Matsuyama, two on Bradley and one on Aberg. He'll also start level with McIlroy, Morikawa, Clark and Cantlay. But there must be a chance he can burst past those above him.

"Is Matsuyama right after pulling out of the BMW with a back injury? Can Bradley really do it in successive weeks? Is Aberg a little hit and miss right now in terms of both finishes (40-2) in the Playoffs and round scores (72-63-71-71) at the BMW?

"Even if they all perform well enough, Burns is a danger due to some excellent scoring fueled by a red-hot putter (2nd for SG: Putting in both Playoff events). As for course form, he rather underperformed in his first two trips to East Lake despite showing flashes such as a 67-68 weekend finish in 2022.

"But last year he opened with a pair of 66s and closed with a 67, shooting the joint-fourth best score of the 30 players on show."

Course and current form stats

Andy Swales: "East Lake is a lush parkland course where tight tree-lined fairways demand accuracy from the tee. The greens are usually firm and quick, with water coming into play on six holes. When the tournament was switched from its original October/November date to September, in 2007, East Lake's Bentgrass greens were re-seeded with Bermuda in order to cope with the much higher temperatures.

"And more restoration work has been carried out since last year's Tour Championship, under the guidance of architect Andrew Green. As for these changes: Fairways have been converted from Meyer Zoysia to Zorro Zoysia. This will firm up the ground and ultimately increase the amount of roll, allowing the venue's topography to possess a greater influence on the outcome of each stroke...

"One player for whom the stats look great is Xander Schauffele. The American is in the form of his life, having scooped a brace of major titles this year. He's ranked second in the world and also the current FedEx Cup table. And what makes him an even bigger threat is his course history at East Lake. Three times he's fired the lowest 72-hole total here and, in 2017, won the tournament before it became this bizarre handicap event. His 28 rounds here average 66.96."

British Masters tips and Predictions

Thriston Lawrence is a lively candidate

Steve Rawlings: "Last year's winner, Daniel Hillier, only ranked 20^th for Greens In Regulation, but Oliver Wilson, who finished tied second topped the GIR rankings.

"The 2022 winner, Thorbjorn Olesen, won courtesy of a red-hot putter and he only ranked 60^th for GIR but four of the placed players ranked inside the top-six for GIR and Richard Bland ranked number one for Driving Accuracy and second for GIR two years ago.

"The two playoff protagonists at the UK Championship in 2020, Rasmus Hojgaard and Justin Walters, ranked tied sixth for GIR and in behind them, Martin Kaymer, who finished tied third, ranked second for GIR, with Craig Howie (T5) and Calum Hill (T9), ranking fourth and fifth for that stat. The two players tied for third in 2021, Miko Korhonen and Dave Coupland, ranked third and fifth for GIR.

"Hillier ranked fourth for Driving Distance and 20^th for Driving Accuracy. Olesen ranked only 67^th for DA and Bland ranked only 52^nd for DD so I wouldn't get too hung up on the driving metrics...

"Having finished as high as fourth in the Open Championship last month, South Africa's Thriston Lawrence has now advertised his talents to the whole world and not just to those of us who follow the DP World Tour, where he's already won four times.

"He missed the cut at the 3M Open on the PGA Tour the following week but that was hardly surprising, given his performance at Troon. After a five-stroke victory on the Sunshine Tour last week, I thought he looked over-priced yesterday at 40.0.

"Lawrence ranked first for Scrambling last week and fourth in the Open. Whether he's a great price now at 10 points shorter is debatable but he may well drift again before the off."

Ewen Ferguson a neat fit at 30/1

Matt Cooper: "Scotland's Ewen Ferguson has always impressed in similar locations and in those two spots in particular he can trump Hillier with wins.

"He landed his win at Galgorm Castle in the 2022 ISPS Handa World Invitational and had previously finished T14th and seventh at the course.

"In 2019, when he graduated from the Challenge Tour, he was third at Rinkven International, a parkland track in Belgium, and fourth at Dar es Salam which is, of course, in Morocco but a tree-lined test more parkland than the resort golf more typical of the country.

"He returned to the second tier in 2021 and added top fives in Denmark, Sweden and Austria on more parkland courses between the trees.

"And last summer he highlighted that the Brabazon works for him when he finished fourth carding rounds of 69-71-73-68. He's had to deal with vertigo this year but as a consequence he was an emotional winner at Eichenried in June and when last seen he was finishing a fine T22nd in the Open at Royal Troon."

First-Round Leader Tips: Picks from 50/1 to 100/1

Dave Tindall: "Guido Migliozzi is definitely a fan of the Belfry and has to be on the radar again this year.

"The Italian finished runner-up on debut in 2021, opening with a 68 to sit third after 18 holes before eventually losing in a playoff. And although last year's 28th looks nothing more than decent, he was actually the 54-hole leader.

"Migliozzi was a winner at the KLM Open in June and, last time out, was eighth at halfway in the Men's Olympic golf competition before finishing 22nd. Always strong on tree-lined tracks, he's worth a play here at 50s."

Course and current form stats

Andy Swales: "The Brabazon is a traditional British parkland venue which demands good course management skills, along with an ability to read its many undulating putting surfaces. Located close to the M6 Toll Road in Sutton Coldfield, and approximately eight miles from the centre of Birmingham, the Brabazon is a flat layout that is well-bunkered, has narrow fairways, and with water coming into play on 10 holes.

"Solid, accurate, ball-strikers, with a strong tee-to-green pedigree, are more likely to prosper this week than those who rely on hot putting streaks.

"Three players with solid course histories are Calum Hill 40/1, Andy Sullivan 45/1 and Justin Walters 175/1. Scotsman Hill has competed three times at The Belfry and each visit has yielded a top-10."

Read the Punter's in-play blog for the latest betting news from both events