Betfred British Masters leaderboard: Rasmus Hojgaard boosts Ryder Cup hopes
Betfred British Masters First Round Scores: Matt Fitzpatrick and Rasmus Hojgaard boost Ryder Cup chances with encouraging starts at The Belfry.
Pos | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
T1 | Thomas Aiken | -6 |
T1 | Matthias Schwab | -6 |
T1 | Li Haotong | -6 |
T1 | Marcel Siem | -6 |
T5 | Matt Fitzpatrick | -5 |
T5 | Keita Nakajima | -5 |
T7 | Ewen Ferguson | -4 |
T7 | Alex Noren | -4 |
T7 | Manuel Elvira | -4 |
T7 | Matt Wallace | -4 |
T7 | Brandon Stone | -4 |
Rasmus Hojgaard put himself firmly on course to snatch the final automatic place for Team Europe as he and fellow Ryder Cup hopeful, Matt Fitzpatrick, both made excellent starts to the Betfred British Masters.
Hojgaard needs to finish in a two-way tie for 29th at The Belfry to overtake Shane Lowry in the final qualifying event for next month's showpiece at Bethpage.
The Dane opened with a "solid" three-under 69 which leaves him just outside the top 10 after the first round, while Fitzpatrick fired a 67 to sit just one off the lead.
South Africa's Thomas Aiken set the early target in the clubhouse with a 66, a score matched by Matthias Schwab, Li Haotong and German veteran Marcel Siem.
Fitzpatrick was pleased to recover from a "ropey start" to his round, and the former US Open champion is hoping that he's shown enough good form over the summer to persuade Luke Donald that he's worthy of a captain's pick for the Ryder Cup.
"I've done a lot of good stuff in the summer that I'm sure Luke's seen as well," he said. "This week is another opportunity to play well, and that's why I'm here, to do that. And then obviously to get off to a good start is always nice and hopefully keep on."
Matt Wallace had spoken earlier this week about his desire to be part of the Ryder Cup conversation, and he enhanced his chances when he raced to four under after five holes.
But the putts dried up for the Englishman, making only his fourth start of the year on the DP World Tour, as he carded 13 consecutive pars to remain two off the pace along with 2018 Ryder Cup star, Alex Noren.
Shot of the day went to England's Ben Schmidt, who celebrated his first career hole-in-one with a perfect eight-iron at the 182-yard 14th, his ace raising a £50,000 bonus for Guide Dogs, the tournament's official charity partner.
