Matthias Schwab’s red-hot form continued at the Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willett as the Austrian fired a six under par 66 to take the lead after the first round at The Belfry. The 26-year-old, who has three top ten finishes in his last four starts, carded three successive birdies from the 16th hole, making the turn three under par after starting from the tenth. Birdies on the second and third holes quickly followed and he took the solo lead after his seventh gain of the day on the eighth on the iconic Brabazon Course. He sits one stroke ahead of Scotland’s Calum Hill, who carded a five under par 67 to move one stroke ahead of a group of nine golfers on four under. Danny Willett, bidding to become the first winning host of the Betfred British Masters, signed for a three under par round of 69. The 2016 Masters champion recorded five birdies in his first round, securing a £5,000 donation from tournament title sponsors Betfred to Willett’s chosen charity, Prostate Cancer UK. Betfred have pledged to donate £1,000 for every birdie and £2,000 for every eagle Willett makes this week. Player Quotes Matthias Schwab: "I think it’s quite a good score, I’m really happy and pleased with the score but also with how I played. I had a slow start but an OK start and then had a really nice stretch from my seventh to 12th hole, played those in five under which was great.Then I got a nice birdie on eight, which was my final hole and is not an easy hole today. Overall I kept it together, one bogey and seven birdies so it’s been a really solid day. "I don’t know exactly what I need to do to make these good weeks great weeks because if I knew I would have done that already but it’s been a solid start to the season with some really nice finishes. I couldn’t quite finish way up the leaderboard but the top tens are nice and I’m just trying to do the same going forward and hopefully it’ll just happen. I don’t think I need to change a whole lot because the game is feeling really solid." Danny Willett: "It was good, really good ball control and I gave myself a lot of chances. Didn’t quite take as many as we’d have liked, and a bit of a poor finish – my mind went wandering a little bit, which was a shame. A nice enough position with three rounds left. "You have to realise you weren’t even there, you can’t hit that shot if the intent was right and you’ve checked it. It was one of those... I maybe didn’t get out of 17 quick enough. The tee box is forward on 18. There’s a decision there, it could easily be three wood, probably should have been three wood. I got right in the middle of hitting two shots and hit the wrong one."

Robert MacIntyre carded the joint-lowest round of the day, a six under par 66, as he took a share of the lead at the halfway stage of the Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willett. The Scotsman, searching for his second European Tour victory, raced up the leaderboard with five birdies on his first five holes on the iconic Brabazon Course at The Belfry, making the turn four under par. Three birdies on his closing five holes saw him sign for a seven under par total, sharing the lead with compatriot Calum Hill and England’s Richard Bland. It is the first time Bland has shared the lead after 36 holes at a European Tour event since the British Masters in 2016, as he bids to record a maiden win on his 478th start. The 48-year-old is the only bogey-free player after two rounds, adding to yesterday’s score of 68 with a round of 69. Hill continued the form which has seen him record three top-eight finishes on the 2021 Race to Dubai, which included a season-best result of tied third at the Kenya Savannah Classic supported by Absa in March. Englishman Eddie Pepperell, winner of the British Masters in 2018 at Walton Heath, shares fourth place with Frenchman Julien Guerrier and South African Justin Harding. Tournament host Danny Willett remains in the hunt after a level par round of 72. The 2016 Masters champion shares 16th place on three under par. Willett has raised £9,000 for his chosen charity, Prostate Cancer UK, after carding four second round birdies, adding to the five he recorded yesterday. Tournament title sponsors Betfred have pledged £1,000 for every birdie and £2,000 for every eagle Willett records this week to Prostate Cancer UK. Player Quotes Robert MacIntyre: "It was one of those days where you start off and everything you look at goes in. It was exactly where we’re aiming it and it was good to see the work we’ve been putting in on the putting continuing to perform. "I started working with Graeme (Leslie) in the middle of last year. I was getting into bad habits and he was just drilling it into me: ‘trust in what you’re doing’. Everything we’ve done is pretty simple; he just gives me basic things to work on and then I just trust it." Danny Willett: "We got a good run with the weather, we’ve been lucky the first two days. Played some real nice golf but didn’t quite get a few of the little bounces, ran through a couple of fairways by a couple of yards – when you’re hitting in to small areas, we didn’t just quite get everything right. We’re not going to be too far back with a couple of rounds to go. Hopefully we can turn a few of them round and hole a few putts over the weekend."

Eddie Pepperell will bid to win the Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willett for a second time as he takes a one stroke lead into the final round at The Belfry. The Englishman, who won this title in 2018 at Walton Heath, carded a four under par round of 68 on the Brabazon Course to sign for a ten under par total, one stroke ahead of a packed leaderboard which includes six players in a share of second place. Of those contending, Italy’s Edoardo Molinari carded the lowest round of the tournament thus far, an eight under par 64, to move to nine under. He was joined on that number by compatriot Guido Migliozzi as the pair look to keep the title in Italian hands after Renato Paratore’s victory at Close House last year. Also on nine under are the Scottish duo of Calum Hill and Robert MacIntyre, and South Africa’s Dean Burmester and Adrian Meronk of Poland, who both carded seven under par rounds of 65. Tournament host Danny Willett is just three strokes behind Pepperell after a third round of 68 which included seven birdies, recording five on his first six holes. For each birdie Willett makes this week, tournament title sponsor Betfred will donate £1,000 directly to Prostate Cancer UK, the 2016 Masters Champion’s choice of official charity, also pledging to donate £2,000 for every eagle Willett makes. So far, the 33-year-old has raised £16,000 after 16 birdies across his first three rounds. Player Quotes Eddie Pepperell: “It was pretty quick, downhill, left to right (the birdie putt on the last). I had a great feel from long range today and I trusted that. It was one of those putts. I holed a great one on 14. I've been using a device for my putting called a Capto, which has been really about acceleration in the stroke. I use it a lot from 40 ft, so what I've did well today, and indeed this week, has been about trusting the feel I get from it. I'm hoping to see it carry over a bit to mid-range, but long putts have been fantastic.” Robert MacIntyre: “That’s the worst it could have been, really. I didn’t drive it my best but kept it in play for the most part of the day. I felt I struck my irons beautifully. Gave myself so many chances, tough back pins, I have new irons in the bag and I was trusting them completely. Me and Mike have done the numbers every day, every morning, and they were all over the pin. Perfect numbers. The putter was cold today, but you get days like that. Yesterday it was on fire. Hopefully tomorrow it turns up.” Danny Willett: “It was very up and down. We really had it going on the first seven holes, then I had my little hour again, like I have done every day this week, to drop a couple of silly ones. Nice to finish with a couple of nice ones on the last four. Very colourful - making some birdies so Betfred can give some nice donations to Prostate Cancer UK – all is well.”

Richard Bland claimed an emotional first European Tour victory in his 478th appearance after the English veteran overcame young Italian Guido Migliozzi in a play-off to win the Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willett. In a dramatic final day on the famous Brabazon Course at The Belfry, Bland showed incredible bravery twice over to clinch the victory – first at the 72nd hole where he holed a monster birdie putt to finish 13 under par courtesy of a six under 66. Then, after Migliozzi had forced a play-off thanks to a four under 68, Bland once again showed his mettle. Having found a tricky lie from his drive in the first play-off hole, the 48-year-old pulled off a stunning five wood approach to leave a makeable two-putt. Migliozzi, 50 yards further forward on the fairway from his own drive, proceeded to push his second shot to the right of the green. Bland rolled his birdie deftly to within three feet while his Italian counterpart raced his own birdie putt past the hole on the middle tier of the iconic green. When Migliozzi missed his par putt, Bland knocked in for his four and for a career-defining triumph after numerous near-missed down the years, moving him to 14th in the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex in the process. The victory also puts him in pole position for a chance to earn a place in the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in June. The top ten aggregate Race to Dubai points earners (not otherwise exempt) at the Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willet, Made in HimmerLand presented by FREJA and Porsche European Open will earn a place in the third Major Championship of the year. Tournament host Danny Willett capped off a hugely successful week with a two under 70 and a share of 11th spot, having also raised £19,000 for Prostate Cancer UK – after title sponsors Betfred pledged to donate £1,000 to the charity for every birdie the former Masters Champion made during the week. Player Quotes Richard Bland: "It’s probably going to take a few days to sink in. It’s what I’ve worked for for 20 years. That’s what we all work for, to win out here and try and prove yourself. I’ve had a few close calls and I assume someone up there was looking down on me quite favourably today. It was just my day. "I kept telling myself on the last I thought 13 under would be a really good score. There was maybe two or three guys on 11. Especially if the weather stayed how it was. We played the last three holes in the worst of the weather as well. I thought if it stays like this then the par fives are playing pretty long. They’re not giveaway birdies. To hole that putt on the last, I don’t think I saw it go in. I knew it was in with about a foot to go. I think I turned to the left to celebrate before it had even gone in. I’d have looked silly if it’d missed. Fortunately it went in. "Finally I can go off that list of most starts without a win.