Close House Master Renato celebrates near-flawless win

RENATO Paratore missed out on a place in the history books but ensured his name will be etched on the British Masters trophy alongside the likes of Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo with an almost flawless victory at Close House.

The 23-year-old Italian had been aiming to become the first player to win a European Tour event without making a single bogey since Jesper Parnevik at the 1995 Scandinavian Masters.

And although his brilliant run of error-free golf finally came to an end on his 63rd hole of the week, a final round of 68 in testing conditions saw him finish 18 under par, three shots ahead of Danish teenager Rasmus Hojgaard.

In the European Tour’s full return to action after nearly five months of inactivity due to the coronavirus pandemic, Paratore’s fellow players formed a socially-distant guard of honour behind the 18th green and he was surprised with a FaceTime call with his mother Cristina.

“It was really amazing,” Paratore said. “I did not expect that from my friends on the Tour and it was a really good situation. I loved it and also to see my mum was a lovely surprise.”

Paratore, who won the Nordea Masters in 2017, added: “This one feels amazing. I am really really happy. I did not expect to come back and win so soon after lockdown.

“I plan to play the next five events and I said to my team the goal was definitely to get one of the 10 places in the US Open that are available (from a mini order of merit).”