Tournament host Danny Willett raised £8,000 for Prostate Cancer UK by carding eight birdies on day two of the Betfred British Masters and in doing so moved to within three shots of leader Hurly Long at the halfway stage. Germany’s Long carded a four under par round of 68 at The Belfry to lead by one, but it was Willett who roared into contention on the iconic Brabazon Course as he responded to an opening one over par 73 with a sublime 65 on day two to take his running fundraising total to £12,000 after 36 holes. Tournament sponsors Betfred have pledged to donate £1,000 for every birdie and £2,000 for every eagle the 2016 Masters Tournament winner makes this week. Long, who graduated from the European Challenge Tour in 2021, is one stroke clear of 2019 Betfred British Masters champion Marcus Kinhult, round one co-leader Thorbjørn Olesen and Scotland’s Richie Ramsay who all share second place on eight under par, with Denmark’s Rasmus Højgaard a shot further back on seven under. Willett is one of four players in a tie for sixth on six under, alongside countryman Marcus Armitage, South African Justin Walters, who lost in a play-off to Højgaard in the 2020 ISPS Handa UK Championship at The Belfry, and Sweden’s Sebastian Soderberg. Player quotes Danny Willett: “We played really good today. I think that was the only green we missed there on nine. Lots of birdies, lots of chances, took a lot. I'm trying to spend Betfred's money, £8,000 more today to Prostate Cancer UK. We are going in the right direction. “You know what, this game is so fine in margins. Holed a couple nice putts early on. Greens obviously are running nicely this morning. Just one of those days where hit a lot of really good golf shots and capitalised where we could. “It was nice to kind of have a decent rest yesterday after we played, and up nice and early this morning, beautiful morning for golf, really. The weather has been kind to us these last two days so far. “It was just really a tale of two halves. Today felt like me, yesterday felt like my brother. It's nice to be in position going into the weekend. Fingers crossed we can play well. Crowds have been amazing. Even at 8.30 this morning, they were a few rows deep down ten. Fingers crossed they keep piling in and we can play well.” Hurly Long: “It was good. I thought the conditions were quite a bit more difficult today with the wind and it's a bit cooler and there's a lot of tough holes out here but despite not driving it my best, the irons were really good again and so I did give myself some opportunities and yeah, took them when I could. So yeah, I'm happy. “The game is good, and I know that if I play the way I can play, that I can compete out here. So I'm certainly not scared to do well. I think that's something I've learned over time and I'm just enjoying it. It's awesome. We play great courses and great guys out here, so it's been great.”

Thorbjørn Olesen will tomorrow bid for his first DP World Tour title in almost four years after opening a three-stroke lead at the Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willett. The Dane reached 11 under par in style with an eagle-birdie finish at The Belfry to sign for a three under par round of 69, which included a 122-yard hole-out eagle on the par four fifth hole, sending the English crowds into raptures. Olesen’s last DP World Tour title came at the 2018 Italian Open, the year he made his Ryder Cup debut for Team Europe, and the 32-year-old has previously converted four out of five 54-hole leads in his DP World Tour career, including his only previous win on British soil at the 2015 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Overnight leader Hurly Long, of Germany, battled back from a three over par front nine to sign for a one over par 73 to join Englishman Marcus Armitage in a tie for second on eight under. American Chase Hanna posted the low round of the day with a six under par 66 to take a share of fourth place on seven under par alongside Denmark’s Rasmus Højgaard, Scotsman Richie Ramsay, South African Justin Walters and Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zanotti. Host Danny Willett carded a two over par 74, but made three birdies during the third round to take the running donation total up to £15,000 for the tournament's Official Charity Prostate Cancer UK. Title sponsors Betfred have pledged to donate £1,000 for every birdie and £2,000 for every eagle Willett makes this week, with the 2016 Masters Tournament winner carding 15 birdies thus far at The Belfry. Player quotes Thorbjørn Olesen: “I didn't expect that when I stood on the 16th tee. It was a very nice way to finish. Great shot on 17, and obviously a great putt here on 18. “There's a bit of a fight out there. I'm just happy I stuck in there and I kept being aggressive the whole way around. “It's been a long time since I holed a full shot, I think it was 122 yards from the right rough. Just a normal sand wedge, just ran out and it took a long time, but it went in in the end. “I think I know how hard it is to win out here. It never comes easy. I think that's important. “I think my attitude today was really good. I think if I can keep staying aggressive and not worrying too much, that's very important. Like I said, it's always really difficult to win. You have to go out there and get it.” Marcus Armitage: “Just been getting passionate really. I've hit a lot of greens and played away from the flags quite a lot and just played the patient game. “I had a tough week last week, and I come here and just got back to basics with my golf swing and just patience, really, and just try and get the putter working. “There's nothing better than your home crowd. I mean, to win in front of your home crowd must be unbelievable. I would love to experience it, maybe being tomorrow or maybe sometime in the future, but hopefully one day I'll experience winning in front of a home crowd.

Thorbjørn Olesen finished eagle-birdie for the second day in succession to win the Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willett in dramatic fashion at The Belfry. The 32-year-old posted a one over par round of 73 to finish on ten under, one stroke clear of Sweden’s Sebastian Soderberg. The Dane entered the final round with a three-stroke lead but that soon disappeared after a two over par front nine, before another pair of bogeys at the 14th and 15th left the prospects of a first title for four years unlikely. However, Olesen holed a 28-foot eagle putt on the par five 17th hole to draw level with Soderberg, who had earlier set the clubhouse target at nine under par, before going one better on the 18th as he converted a 35-foot birdie putt in front of a packed grandstand to seal victory and send the 15,000-strong English crowd into raptures. The victory is the former Ryder Cup player’s sixth on the DP World Tour and first since the 2018 Italian Open, which set him on the path to make his debut for Team Europe later that year. Olesen also moves to the top of the European Qualifying Series for this year's U.S. Open. The top ten aggregate DP World Tour Rankings points earners, not otherwise exempt, from the Betfred British Masters, Soudal Open, Dutch Open and Porsche European Open will earn a place at The Country Club, Brookline in June. Scottish duo Richie Ramsay and Connor Syme shared third place with South African Justin Walters on eight under par, with 2021 Challenge Tour graduates Chase Hanna, of the United States, and Germany’s Hurly Long a shot further back in a tie for sixth. Eighth place was shared by eight players, including Ras al Khaimah Classic winner Ryan Fox and 2014 Ryder Cup player Jamie Donaldson. Tournament host Danny Willett finished in a tie for 16th place on five under par but added four final round birdies to bring his fundraising total to £19,000 after four rounds. Tournament sponsors Betfred pledged to donate £1,000 for every birdie and £2,000 for every eagle the 2016 Masters Champion made this week. Player quotes Thørbjorn Olesen: “It was obviously a pretty tough day and hit a lot of shots to the left. I was really struggling. I somehow just kept going, and yeah, what a finish. Incredible. “Standing on 17, I'm thinking can I make birdie, birdie and maybe get into a play-off. Obviously when I got the chance on 17, I preferred to take that. 18 is a tough hole, so par is a good score obviously. I just gave it everything. “It's obviously a massive tournament. It's always been, so many great champions here. It's a privilege to get your name there. Just always the great support you get in Britain. The crowds have been amazing from Thursday and onwards. Got so much support. So I'm really happy. “I just had so much belief on 17 that I could make it. I just forced it in somehow which was incredible. Especially with the crowds, the British crowds has been amazing all week.