Nino Bertasio carded a European Tour career-low ten under par 61 to take a commanding four-stroke lead after the first round of the Portugal Masters. The Italian, chasing a maiden European Tour victory, made the turn four under par before carding six birdies in his last seven holes to sign for a bogey-free round at Dom Pedro Victoria in the Algarve. The 33-year-old is four ahead of Spaniard Adri Arnaus, who is also searching for his first victory on the European Tour. Arnaus carded a bogey free 65 to sit on six under par, one stroke ahead of Malaysia’s Gavin Green who took solo third after a five under 66. Former Portugal Masters champions Lucas Bjerregaard and Pádraig Harrington, winners in 2017 and 2016 respectively, share fourth on four under par. Their rounds of 67 were matched by Benjamin Hébert of France, Højgaard twins Nicolai and Rasmus, and Englishman Callum Shinkwin. Player Quotes Nino Bertasio: “I got off to a good start, birdied the second after hitting it close and I started making some putts. I made a lot of putts on the front nine and played really solid on the back. Hit a few close, hit the par fives in two and the birdie on the last was a bonus. Today’s a different wind, we normally play it down off the left and today it was in-to. Tricky holes, and very happy to finish birdie-birdie. “I wasn’t thinking about it (a 59), I’m not going to lie. Just trying to finish a good round. I wasn’t expecting a 61, but I have been playing nicely. I putted really well today and everything clicked. I wasn’t expecting a 61, but I’ve been playing some good golf. We’ll see what happens tomorrow. I’ll just try and go out and have fun, I’ve got a great group with Sam Horsfield and Julian (Suri), we had a lot of fun. I’ll try and stick to that.” Adri Arnaus: “My goal every day is to go out there, have fun and try and play my best. At the start of the day I felt as though things were on point, so I took advantage of it. "I’ve only played this course twice, I played it the first time with a different wind. On the par fives, it’s a bit easier with the other wind, but this time around, with the northern wind, we couldn’t take advantage as well. But I took advantage of other holes and I guess there are still plenty of opportunities out there.” Gavin Green: “It was a little bit of a shaky start. The wind was pumping a bit and I was trying to putt my way around and give myself looks. I did that. There were a couple of times where I had to salvage a par or salvage a good bogey. Once we turned, the wind died down a little bit but the greens were getting a bit softer as it got cooler. It was nice to hole some putts and get a 66. “It’s a lot softer and a lot longer. I don’t remember using this many drivers. On nearly every single hole I’m hitting driver. It’s usually firm and fast, particularly the greens. Now it’s a lot softer and the course is playing way longer, especially in the wind.

Nino Bertasio will take a two-stroke lead into the weekend of the Portugal Masters after the Italian carded a two under par second round of 69 at Dom Pedro Victoria. The 33-year-old led by four at the start of the day after a ten under par opening round, but his lead was cut in half by the chasing pack, with 2017 Portugal Masters champion Lucas Bjerregaard moving to ten under par after a six under round of 65. It was another day of low scoring in the Algarve as Matthieu Pavon of France and 2016 Ryder Cup player Thomas Pieters carded matching seven under par 64s to join Bjerregaard and Adri Arnaus of Spain in a share of second. Callum Shinkwin, who won his first European Tour title last November at the Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Open, carded a five under par 66 to take solo sixth place on nine under, one stroke ahead of compatriot Sam Horsfield. Player Quotes Nino Bertasio: “I couldn’t expect anything similar to yesterday. A solid day. I didn’t make many putts, the greens were a bit bumpy towards the end. I made three birdies and they were basically inside two feet. I didn’t make much out there, but I’ll take it. “It was (challenging to stay present), I’m not going to lie. So many messages and a lot on social media. A good second round and with tomorrow it’s basically a new tournament, so I’m going to enjoy it.” Adri Arnaus: “It’s a really good day when you don’t drop any shots and have no bogeys on the card. I managed to save a few good pars but took advantage of the opportunities. I thought today wasn’t so easy because the pins were quite tucked. We stuck to our gameplan and we played well.” Lucas Bjerregaard: “There was a little less wind this morning. Greens were perfect when we started, so that was nice. I took advantage of that and made a few putts. The wind has changed a bit during the day, it’s probably playing a little easier than yesterday. “The greens are slick. If you get some of those downhill they go quick, but they are so pure and really nice to putt on. I’ve had the speed down pretty well, so that has been nice.” Matthieu Pavon: “I played solid. I struggled a bit off the tee early today, but nothing destructive. I had shots to the green, so I just waited for opportunities and dropped some pretty early. That brought my confidence level high and I just tried to follow my game plan for the 18 holes.” Thomas Pieters: “I started lovely with a nice eagle at the second – I never saw it go in. It’s always nice when you get a start like that and then keep building. I putted well, even on the back nine where the greens were pretty rough. But I managed to roll some in, it was a good day. “It’s been very up and down today. But it’s so lovely being able to play with little wind today. I felt like it’s been ages since I had a round with nice weather, a good golf course and no wind. It was nice to hit greens, hit it close and not have to think so much.”

Matthieu Pavon and Thomas Pieters share a four-stroke lead ahead of tomorrow’s final round at the Portugal Masters as they both carded six under par 65s at Dom Pedro Victoria. Pieters, a member of Europe’s 2016 Ryder Cup team, carded eight birdies and an eagle during his round and will go in search of his fifth European Tour title. Pavon joined him in a share of the lead on 16 under par after his eighth birdie of the day on the 18th hole, recovering from a dropped shot on the 17th. Pavon is bidding for a maiden European Tour victory and holds a 54-hole lead on Tour for the first time in his career. The pair are four strokes ahead of 2017 Portugal Masters champion Lucas Bjerregaard, who is also seeking a strong finish to secure his card for the 2022 season. The Dane is 12 under par after three rounds, one stroke ahead of Dutch Open winner Kristoffer Broberg. In a share of fifth place on ten under are Denmark’s Nicolai Højgaard and Englishman Sam Horsfield. Player Quotes Thomas Pieters: “I was quite happy. The front nine was really tough with the wind, we got lucky and it died down on the back nine. The front nine was brutal. The wind switched every five seconds, it felt like. I putted well, gave myself plenty of chances and it was nice to walk off with a putt like that. "I felt like I played well all day. I’m not going to make any excuses but I had a mud ball on the par five, the fifth. I had five mudballs on the first nine. I finished well. I hit a terrible three wood into 12, got away with it and made the putt. In my head that was like a two or three shot swing, I was very positive after that.” Matthieu Pavon: “It feels great. I took that putt personally (on 18), because I made a three putt on 17, so I wanted revenge on the 18th, which was a tough hole. I’m really proud of it. “I just focused a lot on the pace (of the greens), that’s the main thing. I feel like I have had good reads this week, after that it’s just the pace. The only putts where I missed the pace were 17 and 11, I gave myself a little bit of work. After a full field, the greens sometimes aren’t good at the end of the day. The key was good pace, leaving less pressure on the putt back. “It will be the same tomorrow. I try to hit as many greens as possible, this is the way I was today, focused on every shot and trying to hit every shot as if it was the most important in my life. The focus was good and narrowed compared to yesterday, so I will try and bring this mentality with me into tomorrow.” Lucas Bjerregaard: “I didn’t have my best today. I drove it poorly, but all-in-all it wasn’t too bad. I was a little disappointed with the finish. I hit a good drive on 17 and was able to go for the green, but I hit it in the water and made bogey. That was disappointing, it would have been nice to make a birdie there.