Long leads after round two of Betfred British Masters at The Belfry

Hurly Long (Ger) will take a slender one shot lead into the weekend after producing a brilliant burst of scoring on his back nine on day two of the £1.85 million Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willett at The Belfry, Sutton Coldfield, week 14 of 44 on the 2022 DP World Tour.

The 27 year old began the day a single shot off the lead but was unable to make any early progress as, starting from the tenth tee, he carded nine straight pars.

But once the European Challenge Tour graduate got his first birdie, they carried on coming, as he made four in a row from the first hole before adding another at the sixth to move two clear of his nearest rivals.

A dropped shot on the last meant Long had to settle for a second-round 68, on nine under par.

Tournament host Danny Willett (Eng) was in the large group on six under after following up Thursday’s 73 with a stunning 65, the lowest round of the week so far.

“It was good,” said rookie Long, who finished in a tie for third at the Ras al Khaimah Classic and tied 18th in the Ras Al Khaimah Championship presented by Phoenix Capital, both played earlier this year at Al Hamra Golf Club, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, in February, before a joint second in the Magical Kenya Open presented by Absa the following month.

“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 I’m happy,” concluded Long.

34 year old Willett, winner of eight DP World Tour titles, including the 2016 Dubai Desert Classic, 2016 Masters Tournament and the 2018 DP World Tour Championship and currently 130th in the OWGR, followed his opening 73 with an eight birdie round of 65, a sole bogey on the ninth on the Brabazon Course, Willett’s final hole of the day, to move up from tied 76th to tied 6th.

The 36 hole cut fell at level par, with Dubai resident Rafa Cabrera Belo (Spain) making the cut on the mark with a second round 70.