Winner Paratore gets ‘guard of honour’ and surprise video greeting by Mom at British Masters

Renato Paratore. Pic: Getty Images

Newcastle-on-Tyne, UK, July 26: Renato Paratore got a lot of surprises after emerging a convincing winner at the 2020 Betfred British Masters hosted by Lee Westwood. Going bogey-free for his first 63 holes and then keeping his cool in the closing stages, Paratore (69) totalled 18-under and won by three shots, as Rasmus Hojgaard (70) and Justin Harding (72) who were 15-under and 14-under respectively.

No sooner had he finished, Paratore was taken to a video call where his mother was waiting to greet him and then his fellow players gave him a guard of honour with golf clubs as he walked off the 18th green.

“It was really amazing,” he said. “I didn’t expect that from my friends here on Tour and it was a really good sensation and these are the moments I love.

“To see my mama was a big surprise and I was really, really happy.”

Paratore can also now look to staying into the mini Order of Merit for the UK Swing, from where the top 10 players will qualify for the US Open at Winged Foot Golf Club in September.

Paratore entered the final day at Close House Golf Club with a one shot lead and was only briefly caught in tough, windy conditions in the north east of England.

Paratore lost in a play-off to Hojgaard at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open earlier this season but never looked like being caught by the 19-year-old as he added to the Nordea Masters title he won in 2017.

Despite being just 23 years old, Paratore was playing in his 159th event and became the second Italian winner of this trophy after Baldovino Dassu in 1976.

“I’m just really, really happy,” he said. “I played really solid. I didn’t expect to come back and win my second one after lockdown but I worked really hard last year.”

“I said to my caddie and my team – the goal is to go to the U.S. Open,” he said. “The first tournament went well.”

Paratore who was bogey free for the first three days stayed that way for the first eight holes over which he had two birdies. He finally dropped a shot on ninth, which was his 63rd hole of the week, and again on the 11th. But he also had birdied on fifth and another one on 17th.

South African Justin Harding finished at 14-under, a shot clear of home trio Robert Rock, Andy Sullivan and Dale Whitnell. Harding was in some kind of contention for the first few holes, as he birdied third and fifth with a bogey in between. However, he had no more birdies and dropped shots on ninth and 14th.

Harding played a beautiful pitch to set up an eight foot birdie on the third and join the lead but gave the shot straight back as he failed to find the green off the tee at the next. Later the birdies dried up.

Højgaard recovered from a bogey on the second to make an excellent par save on the third and picked up a shot on the seventh to turn in level par, three shots off the lead.

A smart up and down got him within two but Paratore followed suit before the leader missed the green at the 11th and conceded a bogey.

Højgaard dropped a shot at the 15th and while he regained it at the par five 17th, Paratore got up and down from the sand on the same hole to take a three shot lead up the last.

Harding bogeyed the 14th on the back nine to sign for a 72, while Whitnell carded a 71, Rock registered a 69, and Sullivan recorded a 67.

Paratore was not the only winner this week, with the #GolfforGood initiative raising over £100,000 for the event’s Official Charity the Sir Graham Wylie Foundation.

On top of the European Tour’s £50,000 donation, Betfred donated £50,000 for Jack Senior’s hole-in-one on Friday and £16,000 for tournament host Lee Westwood’s 16 birdies over the week.

Read also:

Solid Harding chases Paratore hard at British Masters

Paratore grabs halfway lead at British Masters; Harding in hot chase

 

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