Paratore wins Masters after coming close to Roman history

There’s plenty of Roman history to be found around Close House – there are signs warning against metal detector use in properties close to Hadrian’s Wall – but Renato Paratore didn’t seem to mind he’d missed out on his own bit.

The 23-year-old from the Italian capital was still on course for the first European Tour win this century completed without a bogey when he got to the turn of his final round in blustery conditions at the Betfred British Masters.

That bid ended at the 11th hole, but with the winds swirling around the considerable slopes there was still a tournament to be won, and Paratore duly nailed a birdie quickly afterward to make sure he retained a firm grip on the first tournament after lockdown.

He completed a start-to-finish victory with a two-under 69 for an 18-under total of 266, three ahead of Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard.

“I never thought of the record because you know if I do, the first thing I am going to make is a bogey,” said Paratore, who was claiming his second tour title in six years on the circuit.

“It was windier today and really difficult, so when I made the first bogey, I made a really good birdie to stay in the tournament. The conditions were really tough at my last win in Sweden in 2017, but both times there haven’t been low scores and I’ve been able to focus on holding the lead.”

Neither of his closest pursuers, the 19-year-old Dane or South Africa’s experienced Justin Harding, were able to make much headway in the tougher conditions. Andy Sullivan, the former Ryder Cup player, made ground with a 67 but was always too far back.

Paratore added that the special circumstances of the tournament – no fans and the bio-bubble restricting player movements – were “not easy”, but the same for all the field.

“For me the European Tour have done a really great job,” he said.

“It is not easy because you have to do golf club-hotel, hotel-golf club, but we have to do this for the benefit of the Tour and to be able to play more events.”

Tournament host Lee Westwood was never in contention and while he believed the Tour had done “an unbelievable job” getting the tournament on, he himself found it out of his comfort zone.

“It is almost about seeing my mates and the sociable element of it all and you’re not getting that at the moment,” he said.

“I’ve never seen so many players on the range at 8 o’clock at night trying to avoid their hotel rooms.”

Perthshire’s Calum Hill finished as leading Scot in a tie for 26th place on sixunder, with Richie Ramsay’s par 71 being the best of the Scots on the final day. The veteran finished tied 38th with fellow Aberdonian David Law.