July 22-25
Close House GC, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England
โฌ1,250,000
Round 1, Round 2, Round 4
Italyโs Renato Paratore is in position to join one of golfโs most exclusive clubs after maintaining his flawless form in the Betfred British Masters.
Paratore carded a bogey-free round of 66 at Close House and has not dropped a single shot in the first 54 holes of the European Tourโs full return to action for the first time since early March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 23-year-old enjoys a one-shot lead over South Africaโs Justin Harding, who also returned a 66 on a day of low scoring, and could become the first player to win a European Tour event without a bogey since Jesper Parnevik in the 1995 Scandinavian Masters.
JT Poston won the Wyndham Championship on the PGA Tour last year without dropping a shot, the first player since Lee Trevino to do so in 1974.
54 holes. 0 bogeys ✍️
โ The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) July 24, 2020
Renato Paratore takes a one-shot lead going into tomorrow's final round.#BetfredBritishMasters #GolfForGood
โItโs a good thing to be in contention and Iโll just keep trying to play like this,โ said Paratore, who won the Nordea Masters in 2017.
โI had a month after lockdown ended to practice and fortunately I live in Dubai and played a lot of rounds with a friend of mine, Guido Migliozzi, who also plays on the Tour.
โItโs good to practice with someone at the same level as you to keep your game sharp.โ
Denmarkโs Rasmus Hojgaard is two shots off the lead after also shooting 66, with Englandโs Dale Whitnell another stroke adrift following a 68.
Paratore held a one-shot lead overnight but had been overtaken before he could hit a ball in anger thanks to a stunning round from Englandโs Sam Horsfield, whose 61 set a new course record.
Horsfield only made the halfway cut with a shot to spare but raced to the turn in 30 with four birdies and an eagle and also eagled the 10th to raise the prospect of just the second 59 in European Tour history.
A run of five straight pars effectively put that out of reach but he nevertheless finished the round in style with a birdie on the 16th and a remarkable third eagle of the day on the par-five 17th.
โI actually never thought about a 59 until walking up the 18th fairway,โ Horsfield said. โI missed a couple of putts on 13 and 14 from 12, 15 feet and I said to my caddie walking up 18, โI may as well hole it and try to shoot 59โ.
โI didnโt do that but I had it going today, which was nice. I felt like the first two days I was maybe pushing a bit too hard as I havenโt played a tournament in four months.
โI spoke to a few friends last night and they said, โdude just go out there and play like you were playing at home, itโs literally the sameโ. So thatโs what I tried to do today and I think it worked.โ
Horsfield, who is based in Florida and revealed his best friend had tested positive for Covid-19 during the pandemic, is seeking a first European Tour title and believes he is up to the task.
3 eagles. 5 birdies. 61 shots.
โ The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) July 24, 2020
Our new leader, @hr59sam ✍️#BetfredBritishMasters @Workday
โI do feel ready to win,โ Horsfield added. โWeโve got qualification for the US Open (from the first five โUK Swingโ events) and thatโs one of my main goals, to play my way into that.โ
Englandโs Jack Senior also enjoyed a surge through the field to eight under par thanks to a 63 which included a hole-in-one from 176 yards on the 14th.
However, tournament host and club member Lee Westwood, who was in the first group out at 7.55am, was unable to get in on the act and struggled to a 72 to slip back to level par.
Pos. |
Player | To Par |
R1 |
R2 |
R3 |
Total |
1 |
Renato Paratore | -16 |
65 |
66 |
66 |
197 |
2 |
Justin Harding | -15 |
69 |
63 |
66 |
198 |
3 |
Rasmus Højgaard | -14 |
66 |
67 |
66 |
199 |
4 |
Dale Whitnell | -13 |
68 |
64 |
68 |
200 |
T5 |
Ashley Chesters | -12 |
67 |
66 |
68 |
201 |
Sam Horsfield | -12 |
70 |
70 |
61 |
201 |
|
7 |
Robert Rock | -11 |
69 |
66 |
67 |
202 |
T8 |
Jonathan Caldwell | -10 |
67 |
69 |
67 |
203 |
Adrian Meronk | -10 |
69 |
68 |
66 |
203 |
|
Ben Stow | -10 |
67 |
68 |
68 |
203 |
|
T11 |
Oliver Fisher | -9 |
65 |
69 |
70 |
204 |
Jack Senior | -9 |
71 |
70 |
63 |
204 |
|
Andy Sullivan | -9 |
68 |
69 |
67 |
204 |
|
T14 |
Richard Bland | -8 |
69 |
70 |
66 |
205 |
Jens Fahrbring | -8 |
68 |
69 |
68 |
205 |
|
Pedro Figueiredo | -8 |
66 |
69 |
70 |
205 |
|
Ryan Fox | -8 |
67 |
67 |
71 |
205 |
|
Calum Hill | -8 |
67 |
66 |
72 |
205 |
|
Matthew Jordan | -8 |
68 |
68 |
69 |
205 |
|
Rikard Karlberg | -8 |
69 |
70 |
66 |
205 |
|
Eddie Pepperell | -8 |
67 |
69 |
69 |
205 |
|
Aaron Rai | -8 |
69 |
70 |
66 |
205 |
|
Jordan Smith | -8 |
69 |
69 |
67 |
205 |
|
T24 |
Adrian Otaegui | -7 |
73 |
65 |
68 |
206 |
Garrick Porteous | -7 |
65 |
71 |
70 |
206 |
|
Robin Roussel | -7 |
69 |
68 |
69 |
206 |
|
Lars van Meijel | -7 |
69 |
68 |
69 |
206 |
|
T28 |
Laurie Canter | -6 |
70 |
68 |
69 |
207 |
Gregory Havret | -6 |
70 |
68 |
69 |
207 |
|
David Horsey | -6 |
70 |
69 |
68 |
207 |
|
Scott Jamieson | -6 |
70 |
69 |
68 |
207 |
|
Miguel Angel Jiménez | -6 |
68 |
71 |
68 |
207 |
|
Pablo Larrazabal | -6 |
67 |
71 |
69 |
207 |
|
Guido Migliozzi | -6 |
71 |
70 |
66 |
207 |
|
Clement Sordet | -6 |
69 |
67 |
71 |
207 |
|
Graeme Storm | -6 |
71 |
69 |
67 |
207 |
|
Johannes Veerman | -6 |
69 |
71 |
67 |
207 |
|
38 |
Adri Arnaus | -5 |
70 |
69 |
69 |
208 |
T39 |
Alexander Björk | -4 |
68 |
72 |
69 |
209 |
Ignacio Elvira Mijares | -4 |
71 |
68 |
70 |
209 |
|
David Law | -4 |
64 |
69 |
76 |
209 |
|
Niklas Lemke | -4 |
70 |
70 |
69 |
209 |
|
Benjamin Poke | -4 |
70 |
68 |
71 |
209 |
|
Alvaro Quiros | -4 |
69 |
69 |
71 |
209 |
|
Jack Singh Brar | -4 |
67 |
70 |
72 |
209 |
|
Scott Vincent | -4 |
69 |
72 |
68 |
209 |
|
Jeff Winther | -4 |
70 |
67 |
72 |
209 |
|
T48 |
Aaron Cockerill | -3 |
66 |
71 |
73 |
210 |
Sean Crocker | -3 |
67 |
74 |
69 |
210 |
|
Paul Dunne | -3 |
71 |
70 |
69 |
210 |
|
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño | -3 |
72 |
69 |
69 |
210 |
|
Mikko Korhonen | -3 |
71 |
69 |
70 |
210 |
|
Romain Langasque | -3 |
70 |
71 |
69 |
210 |
|
Jake McLeod | -3 |
69 |
70 |
71 |
210 |
|
Andrea Pavan | -3 |
69 |
72 |
69 |
210 |
|
Matthieu Pavon | -3 |
71 |
69 |
70 |
210 |
|
Haydn Porteous | -3 |
71 |
69 |
70 |
210 |
|
Richie Ramsay | -3 |
69 |
71 |
70 |
210 |
|
Antoine Rozner | -3 |
72 |
67 |
71 |
210 |
|
Jason Scrivener | -3 |
70 |
69 |
71 |
210 |
|
Matthew Southgate | -3 |
70 |
70 |
70 |
210 |
|
Toby Tree | -3 |
69 |
67 |
74 |
210 |
|
T63 |
Dave Coupland | -2 |
70 |
71 |
70 |
211 |
Daan Huizing | -2 |
73 |
67 |
71 |
211 |
|
T65 |
Grant Forrest | -1 |
70 |
71 |
71 |
212 |
Marcus Kinhult | -1 |
69 |
69 |
74 |
212 |
|
67 |
Lee Westwood | E |
70 |
71 |
72 |
213 |
68 |
Lee Slattery | 1 |
66 |
74 |
74 |
214 |
69 |
Joachim B. Hansen | 4 |
70 |
70 |
77 |
217 |
70 |
Brandon Stone | 7 |
71 |
70 |
79 |
220 |
The Following Players Failed To Make The Cut ( -1 ) |
||||||
CUT |
Wil Besseling | E |
70 |
72 |
142 |
|
Thomas Bjørn | E |
73 |
69 |
142 |
||
Steven Brown | E |
72 |
70 |
142 |
||
Ben Evans | E |
73 |
69 |
142 |
||
Ross Fisher | E |
70 |
72 |
142 |
||
David Howell | E |
74 |
68 |
142 |
||
Nicolai Højgaard | E |
72 |
70 |
142 |
||
Søren Kjeldsen | E |
72 |
70 |
142 |
||
Carlos Pigem | E |
71 |
71 |
142 |
||
Joel Sjoholm | E |
68 |
74 |
142 |
||
Andrew Willey | E |
70 |
72 |
142 |
||
CUT |
Maverick Antcliff | 1 |
70 |
73 |
143 |
|
Louis De Jager | 1 |
69 |
74 |
143 |
||
Thomas Detry | 1 |
70 |
73 |
143 |
||
Bryce Easton | 1 |
72 |
71 |
143 |
||
Rhys Enoch | 1 |
68 |
75 |
143 |
||
Bailey Gill | 1 |
74 |
69 |
143 |
||
Julien Guerrier | 1 |
73 |
70 |
143 |
||
Maximilian Kieffer | 1 |
70 |
73 |
143 |
||
Sihwan Kim | 1 |
68 |
75 |
143 |
||
Edoardo Molinari | 1 |
72 |
71 |
143 |
||
Chris Paisley | 1 |
72 |
71 |
143 |
||
Tapio Pulkkanen | 1 |
74 |
69 |
143 |
||
Adrien Saddier | 1 |
68 |
75 |
143 |
||
Kalle Samooja | 1 |
72 |
71 |
143 |
||
Ricardo Santos | 1 |
75 |
68 |
143 |
||
Cormac Sharvin | 1 |
73 |
70 |
143 |
||
CUT |
Marcus Armitage | 2 |
71 |
73 |
144 |
|
Jamie Donaldson | 2 |
69 |
75 |
144 |
||
Scott Hend | 2 |
69 |
75 |
144 |
||
Paul Lawrie | 2 |
71 |
73 |
144 |
||
Zander Lombard | 2 |
72 |
72 |
144 |
||
Richard McEvoy | 2 |
70 |
74 |
144 |
||
Connor Syme | 2 |
72 |
72 |
144 |
||
CUT |
Dean Burmester | 3 |
73 |
72 |
145 |
|
Calum Fyfe | 3 |
72 |
73 |
145 |
||
Raphael Jacquelin | 3 |
73 |
72 |
145 |
||
Masahiro Kawamura | 3 |
73 |
72 |
145 |
||
Robin Sciot-Siegrist | 3 |
76 |
69 |
145 |
||
Callum Shinkwin | 3 |
73 |
72 |
145 |
||
Julian Suri | 3 |
73 |
72 |
145 |
||
Darius van Driel | 3 |
73 |
72 |
145 |
||
CUT |
Oliver Farr | 4 |
74 |
72 |
146 |
|
Francesco Laporta | 4 |
73 |
73 |
146 |
||
Alexander Levy | 4 |
70 |
76 |
146 |
||
Lorenzo Scalise | 4 |
73 |
73 |
146 |
||
Oliver Wilson | 4 |
75 |
71 |
146 |
||
Min Woo Lee | 4 |
73 |
73 |
146 |
||
CUT |
Alejandro Cañizares | 5 |
77 |
70 |
147 |
|
Eduardo De la Riva | 5 |
73 |
74 |
147 |
||
David Drysdale | 5 |
78 |
69 |
147 |
||
Ewen Ferguson | 5 |
76 |
71 |
147 |
||
Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez | 5 |
74 |
73 |
147 |
||
James Morrison | 5 |
70 |
77 |
147 |
||
CUT |
Michael Campbell | 6 |
68 |
80 |
148 |
|
Justin Walters | 6 |
72 |
76 |
148 |
||
CUT |
Gavin Moynihan | 7 |
73 |
76 |
149 |
|
Sami Välimäki | 7 |
75 |
74 |
149 |
||
CUT |
Michael Bullen | 13 |
75 |
80 |
155 |
|
Marc Warren | 13 |
78 |
77 |
155 |
||
WD |
Jason Levermore | 4 |
75 |
75 |
||
WD |
Andrew Johnston | 4 |
39 |
39 |