Wentworth’s Steven Brown resecued his European Tour card for 2020 by winning the Portugal Masters by a shot from South Africa’s Brandon Stone at Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

SURREY’S Steven Brown overturned a three-stroke deficit to win his first European Tour title at the Portugal Masters and secured his playing rights for the 2020 season in the process.

The Wentworth member arrived in Portugal needing a top-three finish to secure his card for 2020– and started the final day in the Algarve in fourth place.

But the 2011 English Amateur Champion put the pressure on 54-hole leader Brandon Stone after the turn with a birdie on the 11th.

And a spectacular eagle on the 12th – after hitting his second shot to just four feet – would ultimately hand him his maiden European Tour victory at Vilamoura’s Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course.

Brown, who had finished tied eighth on the much tougher Le Golf National course in Paris a week ago, said: “It’s hard to put into words. It hasn’t sunk in. It was a weird day. You never know with this game.

“It’s crazy to think how well I’ve played this month and how bad the first two-thirds of the year were. I never thought this would happen – I was counting down to Tour School and getting ready for that.

“That shot I hit into 12 was probably the best shot I’ve ever hit. It couldn’t have come off more perfect,” said Brown, who was a winning member of the 2011 Walker Cup team against the USA at Royal Aberdeen.

“I saw the leaderboard at 13 and saw Justin was playing well and Brandon was still ahead of me,” added Brown, who lost a play-off to Matt Wallace in the Made in Denmark last year.

“I kept telling myself to keep going – we had holes to play. It seems like everyone fell away at the end. It went my way because I just parred in,” said Brown who was greeted by the Hertfordshire ace in the scorer’s hut after posting the clubhouse lead on 17-under, with Stone on the 18th tee.

“I’ve just had a calmness in my head the last few weeks – even today. I like the fact I had to go for it and wasn’t trying for a good result,” Brown added.

“I had to seize the chance to win the tournament. That’s the difference.

“Before I’ve thought… ‘I’m up there and had a good week, that’s great’ – this week it was do or bust.

“I can’t believe it,” said Brown, who was congratulated by Walker Cup team-mate Andy Sullivan – a former winner at Dom Pedro Victoria – spraying him with champagne, on the putting green after Stone failed to birdie the 18th hole, playing in the last group.

A gaggle of English players joined in the celebrations, including Essex’s Oliver Fisher, who had a chance of winning going into round four, plus two-time Portugal Masters winner Tom Lewis, another of the Great Britain and Ireland team that saw off the Americans eight years ago in Scotland, including PGA Tour winners Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay, Harris English and Russell Henley.

Brown and Stone were tied with just five holes to play after the South African bogeyed the 13th, with the Englishman moving ahead after his rival dropped another shot at the 16th.

Brown held his nerve with par on each of his final six holes to secure his first European Tour title – his playing rights for 2020 – and his spot in the Turkish Airlines Open in a fortnight’s time.

The latest product of the Wentworth Academy programme – that includes Ross Fisher and Annabel Dimmock on the Ladies European Tour – will now play in the first of three consecutive Rolex Series events at the end of the 2019 season.

Stone shared second place with his compatriot Justin Walters – who needed a strong week to secure his playing rights for next year, which he did after moving up to 79th from 121st on the Race to Dubai rankings.

Frenchman Adrien Saddier finished fourth, while Northumberland’s Chris Paisley – another who congratulated the new champion as he was preparing for a possible first play-off in the Portugal Master’s history rounded out the top five.

Similarly to Walters, Hampshire’s Jack Singh-Brar needed a strong performance to secure his card for 2020.

The 22-year-old, who started playing for the county’s juniors while a member at Bramshaw, started the week as the last man in on the Race to Dubai in 117th place.

But, as the cut-off moved to 115th, the 2017 Walker Cup player responded with a final round of 66 to move to 109th and a share of eighth place.

Singh-Brar, who first played on the European Tour as an amateur in Russia after winning the Faldo Series in 2012, said: “I’m over the moon.

“I got off to a great start – three-under through nine – I just tried to keep pushing.

“It’s hard when you know how much is on the line, I’m just so glad to have done it,” added Singh-Brar, who played in the same Great Britain & Ireland team as fellow Hampshire junior graduates Scott Gregory and Harry Ellis, in Los Angeles.

“You wake up with thoughts racing round, even today. I knew I had to shoot a good number because there were so many people chasing me down.

“Trying to control my emotions, even coming down 18 I could barely hold the club. I struggled to get comfortable all year – hence my results. Now I feel like I can push on.”

Gregory, from Corhampton, will join Wentworth member Ellis at the second stage of the European Tour Qualifying School next week after crashing out at the halfway mark on Friday, having taken a ninth at the par four seventh, in round two, missing the cut by eight shots.

Ellis came through the first stage last month, and has produced back-to-back runner-up spots on the MENA Tour in October.

•Full results from the Portugal Masters click here.

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Royal Liverpool’s Matthew Jordan, could have been playing in this weekend’s Walker Cup match at his home course Hoylake, but now is heading towards a European Tour card after his first win on the Challenge Tour. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

MATTHEW Jordan is looking to follow in the footsteps of his 2017 Walker Cup teammate Jack Singh Brar by winning the Open de Bretagne, which gets under way at Golf Blue Green de Pléneuf Val André on Thursday morning.

The Englishman is one of several players from the 2017 Great Britain and Ireland squad to achieve success on the Challenge Tour since entering the paid ranks.

The former plus-seven handicapper currently occupies the fifth position on the Road to Mallorca Rankings.

But if he had remained as an amateur for 12 months more, he would have been a locked in pick for the Great Britain and Ireland team that will try to regain the Walker Cup at his home course – Royal Liverpool – this weekend.

With one victory already to his name this season – at the Italian Challenge Open Eneos Motor Oil in June – Jordan is one of three members of the 2017 Walker Cup squad to win on the Challenge Tour so far.

Hampshire Golf junior programme graduate Singh-Brar became the first to do so at the Open de Bretagne 12 months ago, while Connor Syme secured his maiden victory at the 2019 Turkish Airlines Challenge.

It has been a year to remember for the 23-year-old who burst into the spotlight after a spectacular opening round of nine-under par 63 at the Betfred British Masters, where he ultimately finished in a tie for 15th.

With five top 10 finishes on the Challenge Tour this year all focus is now on ensuring that he secures one of the 15 European Tour cards up for grabs on the season-long Road to Mallorca.

‘’I’m trying not to think about the rankings too much,’’ Jordan said. ‘’I’d much rather be in this position than to be chasing.

“This way there’s not too much pressure on each event and I can just keep going along and do my thing. I just need to keep ahead of the game which is what I’ve managed to do since my win in Italy.’’

As the Merseyside native looks to replicate Singh Brar’s victory in Brittany, which helped him secure playing rights on the European Tour for 2019, he will also be able to draw inspiration from another one of his Walker Cup teammates.

Jack Singh-Brar – one of three Hampshire players to have played in the 2017 Walker Cup with Hoylake’s Matthew Jordan – claimed his first pro win in the Open de Bretagne a year ago.
Picture by ANDREW GRIFFIN / AMG PICTURES

Jordan’s playing partner in the Sunday foursomes in LA, Robert MacIntyre, also graduated onto the European Tour following the 2018 Challenge Tour season.

‘’I played with Robert during the Walker Cup and he’s just come on leaps and bounds. I try to have something on him all the time,’’ he joked.

‘’At the moment I can’t really because he’d just come back to me with his European Tour card and his finish at The Open,” said the Hoylake member who was obviously torn about the prospect of playing in the 47th Walker Cup on his home course.

‘’In all seriousness though, it’s great to see the other guys do well. Jack played great last year, and Connor Syme has been putting in some good results as well.

“It’s a treat to see how everyone else is getting on and of course, it keeps you motivated as well. All the guys out here are good though, so there’s always plenty to keep pushing you to improve.’’

Jordan – who won the Lytham Trophy last year before turning pro in September – is likely to have one eye on proceedings across the Channel when GB&I seek revenge for that defeat by United States at Los Angeles Country Club.

‘’I went over to Royal Liverpool on Monday just to chat with the players and offer any advice if they wanted it,” said Jordan, whose breakthrough win as an amateur came at the home of Justin Rose in the 2016 Hampshire Hog at North Hants GC.

“The Walker Cup was such a great experience for me, so it was good to have a little reminisce and chat with the boys before the event gets started,” said Matthew, who played alongside two other Hampshire players in Scott Gregory, and Harry Ellis, the Amateur Champions in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

Meanwhile, at a firm seaside venue that has often produced English winners, Jordan is hoping his links experience will prove useful with strong winds forecast over the next four days.

‘’The course is very firm and with the wind blowing it feels like a links course in many ways,” Jordan revealed.

“I’m used to the wind from playing links golf growing up although that doesn’t necessarily mean I enjoy it.

When it comes to pitching it short of the greens and playing with the terrain that is something I’m very used to, so hopefully that will give me a little edge.’’

The Open de Bretagne begins at 7.10am, with Jordan beginning his first at 12.50pm. For live scoring click here.

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Hallowes’ Sam Bairstow is just the second Yorkshireman to claim the Hampshire Salver for the best 72-hole score in the Hampshire Hog and the Selborne Salver. Picture by ANDREW GRIFFIN / AMG Pictures

HALLOWES GC’s Sam Bairstow prevented Jake Bolton from becoming the second Wiltshire winner of the Hampshire Savler in six years at North Hants Golf Club.

Andrew Sullivan (left) the 2011 Hampshire Salver winner. Picture by ANDREW GRIFFIN / AMG Pictures

It is 14 years since a Hampshire player last claimed the Salver – Stoneham’s Ryan Henley, who won at Blackmoor that year, when he also won the county championship at the East Hampshire heathland course which celebrated its centenary that year.

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Guido Migliozzi who was crowned the first winner of the Magical Kenya Open at Karen Country Club. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

GUIDO Migliozzi held his nerve to claim a maiden European Tour title after carding a closing round of 69 to win the Magical Kenya Open.

The Italian, who became a European Tour member for the first time in November after progressing through Qualifying School, started the day in a tie for the lead with fellow rookie Adri Arnaus.

And the pair exchanged blows throughout an enthralling final day in Nairobi until Migliozzi closed out in style hitting the pin with his approach shot on the 18th in front a large crowd at Kenya’s inaugural European Tour event.

Migliozzi, who claimed three victories in 2017 and 2018 playing on the Alps Tour – where Hertfordshire’s Matt Wallace proved his winning pedigree with six wins in 2016 – was beaming after his win.

The former Italian Amateur Strokeplay and Matchplay champion, who was the first player to sign for One Direction’s Nial Horan’s Modest Golf management group, said: “I like the pressure, it’s like a drug. I love pressure, I love playing with a lot of people looking at me and a lot of cameras.

“Obviously I played with Adri Arnaus and we had a beautiful match together yesterday, it was like match play and today was a great battle.

“Yesterday I went to the left at the 18th with a two iron, today a four iron to be sure to not go left, and I had the perfect distance for an eight iron, it was really nice. Easy two putts to win.

“I enjoyed the last two days very much. The pressure was a lot and I’m happy about how I’m playing under pressure, also with my putting game that I worked a lot on.

“I would like to thank every part of my team,” added the 2016 Portuguese International Amateur Champion.

It was the 22-year-old who would prevail though delivering when it mattered most by hitting the pin with his approach to the 18^th to set up a two-putt par which saw him triumph by one shot.

Finishing one behind Migliozzi was Arnaus and South Africans Louis de Jager and Justin Harding.

Following his Qatar Masters victory last week, Harding was firmly in contention right down to the wire in the Kenyan capital, thanks to a five-under final round of 66.

Harding, who needs to break into the World top 50 to earn a debut in the Masters at Augusta, next month, said: “I think I’m probably still going to have to have a decent result come the Match Play but I’ve at least given myself a decent shot at Augusta.

“I thought I played quite nicely. Didn’t get everything out of the front nine, couple of bad chips on six and seven which were naughty, but gave myself a chance coming down the stretch.

“It was another good week, pretty pleased. I battled, probably from hole one, with club selection and the wind swirling around so to have come out and posted 15-under, I’m pleased.

“I had a good week last week and another one this week so I’m sitting quite nicely first season on the European Tour.”

Having gone back-to-back with wins on the Sunshine Tour and Asian Tour last year, many were thinking he could complete a remarkable treble after making an eagle on the 12th, but ultimately the bogey on 13 ended his dream of another win so soon.

Setting a new course record at Karen Country Club was Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre, who ended a nine-week stretch away from his native Scotland with a scintillating eight under par round of 63.

MacIntyre, who lost in the 2016 Amateur Championship final to Hampshire’s Scott Gregory, said: “I’m absolutely delighted. I didn’t really expect that after the way I’ve been playing but I just went out with complete freedom and managed to get it round in eight under.

“I just can’t wait to get home and see the family, the two foster kids Dan and Tom, it’s just so relaxing back in Oban, everything about it.

“It just wasn’t feeling natural and today I went out there and made myself feel free and it just worked.

“I’ve got the game to go and shoot these numbers as I showed, it’s just playing with freedom and that’s what I did. That’s the way I’ve got to try and get my mindset for the rest of the year.”

Hampshire rookie Jack Singh-Brar, who finished 12th to move up to 86th place on the Race to Dubai. Picture by ANDREW GRIFFIN / AMG PICTURES

Hampshire rookie Jack Singh Brar, who started Sunday with a chance of his maiden European win, but a two-over 73 saw him drop from sixth to 12th leaving the winner of last year’s Cordon Golf Open on the Challenge Tour with a cheque for €17,208, pushing him up to 86th place on the Race to Dubai.

Singh Brar, who played in the same Great Britian and Ireland Walker Cup team as former Hampshire junior team-mates Harry Ellis and Scott Gregory, also signed for Horan’s Modest Group after turning pro after the defeat against the USA at Los Angeles Country Club.

He was one of 15 players to earn a full tour card on the Challenge Tour in 2018.

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South Africa’s Louis de Jager opened up a four-shot lead in the Magical Kenya Open at Karen Country Club, in Nairobi. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

LOUIS de Jager opened up a commanding four-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Magical Kenya Open after carding a second round of 66 in Nairobi.

The South African shared the overnight lead with England’s Jack Singh Brar going into day two at Karen Country Club, but after bagging seven birdies today he put daylight between himself and the rest of the field.

De Jager, who triumphed on the Sunshine Tour earlier this year, will have history on his side going into the weekend because over the last five seasons a player has led by four or more shots after 36 holes on ten occasions on the European Tour – with seven going on to win.

A delighted de Jager said: “I had to find my feet a bit at the start of the season but I’m feeling comfortable out here now.

“I told the guys when we played a practice round on Tuesday, after the desert, you could feel you were in Africa, back in our continent.

“You get used to the feel of the Kikuyu grass, and the ball travels the same as back home in Pretoria, distance wise, so it really feels like we’re back home.

“My game plan over the weekend is not to be too aggressive. The most important thing is hitting the fairways and hitting the greens because the greens are quite small.  If you hit the greens you’ve always got a good birdie chance here.”

Four shots off the pace in a share of second place are Singh Brar and Spaniard Adri Arnaus. Both European Challenge Tour graduates, the pair are well poised to make a charge for a maiden European Tour title after rounds of 70 and 68 respectively today.

Hampshire-based Challenge Tour gradute Singh Brar said: “It has been a fun two days. Yesterday I played really solid and today I kept it in there again today.

“It was a bit of an up and down round today – a bit of a mixed bag. I had a couple of good opportunities early doors and then missed a good birdie chance on nine which stunted my movement a little bit – then I was a bit scruffy on the back nine.

“I’m still in a good position and I’m looking forward to the weekend.”

In contention again is South African Justin Harding, who is five behind his countryman de Jager.

The World No. 52, who triumphed in Qatar last week, is looking to become the first player to win back-to-back European Tour events since Justin Rose, who achieved the feat in 2017.

Harding said: “I was a little bit more aggressive today as you have to get it in close here as it can be awkward in places.

“You have to pick and choose your moments here and I did that well out there. I have been trying to make less mistakes recently and I went over the green just once today – that wasn’t the case yesterday – so I am really happy with my performance.”

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Former Hampshire Boys Champion Jack Singh Brar who led the Magical Kenya Open after round one thanks to a superb seven-under 64 at Karen Country Club, in Nairobi. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

FORMER Hampshire Boys Champion Jack Singh Brar soared up the leaderboard with a late birdie blitz to take a share of the first-round lead alongside Louis de Jager at the Magical Kenya Open.

The Englishman, who is a European Tour rookie after graduating from the Challenge Tour in 2018, produced a stunning eagle-birdie-birdie-birdie finish to sign for a bogey-free seven under par round of 64 in Nairobi.

Singh Brar, who is a member at Dorset’s Remedy Oak, grew up playing for Hampshire as a member at Bramshaw, winning its Boys Championship in 2011, before playing in the 2017 Walker Cup alongside Hampshire team-mates Harry Ellis and Scott Gregory, who both claimed the Amateur Championship before turning pro that year.

“Through the round I got up and down when I needed to and then I was five-under through my last four – a great way to finish the round.”

Jack – who first played on the European Tour as an amateur in the Russian Open, in 2013, having won the Faldo Series Grand Final in Brazil – added: “It was my first time at this course, and I like it here.

“The course is quite fiery, and you can hit a lot of low run shots, which is my stock shot, and that worked out perfectly as it can go miles with the altitude.

“It is very different to a lot of the courses that we play, it’s quite quirky, and that is something which has suited me in the past – I won at a course on the Challenge Tour in France which is similar to here.

“I have to just keep pushing on now as you can’t defend on this tour,” added the New Forest-based golfer, who represented Great Britain at the Youth Olympics, in Australia, in 2013.

Despite windy conditions at Karen Country Club, South Africa’s de Jager also shined in the Kenyan sun, bagging seven birdies and an eagle to join Singh Brar at the top of the leaderboard.

A happy de Jager said: “I have been hitting it really well over the past two weeks and I did that again today, but just managed to hole a few putts too.

“It is always nice to be back in Africa, and when we came here on Tuesday, I felt right at home on my home continent and it felt very similar with the altitude to Pretoria which is home for me.

“I also played here last year on the Sunshine Tour, so I feel that I know the course quite well.

“It was a lot windier today than I am used to here, so to come away with the score that I did was really satisfying.”

One shot off the lead is India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar. The European Tour winner is well-placed to contend again after 18 holes thanks to a blemish-free 65 on his first start in the Kenyan capital.

Bhullar said: “The golf course is really interesting – very similar to what we have back in India. Anything from a two iron to a driver works well off the tee.

“I gave myself a lot of good opportunities and I kept the ball in play the whole day and putted well.

“To make six birdies and remain bogey-free in testing conditions felt great, even though I felt I left a couple out there.”

Two off the top are Spanish rookie Adri Arnaus and five-time European Tour champion Michael Hoey, while in-form Christian Bezuidenhout – who finished as a runner-up in Qatar last week – leads a pack of seven players who sit three shots off the pace.

Hoey, who won the British Amateur Championship back in 2001 at Prestwick, said: “I was five-under after the first round in Kenya last year too – I’m not sure what it is about is about Nairobi!

“I am staying with a great Irish family this week who have been here for 27 years and they have been really good hosts, telling me a lot about Kenya.

“I stayed with them 10 years ago so to catch up with them has been great – great food and great hospitality.

“I have played a lot in Africa so I am really used to the altitude here, I know how far the ball is going and my caddy was really good today.

“I judged the wind really well as it was quite tricky today. It is very similar to Joburg and I think having that experience will work to my advantage this week.”

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