Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo - day two digest

Everything you need to know from the second round at The Belfry.

Home favourite Tyrrell Hatton rose to the top of the leaderboard while Beef revealed he won't be shaving his beard off again any time soon on day two of the 2024 Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo.

Here is everything you need to know from the second round at The Belfry.

Hatton leads at halfway stage

Hatton made the most of ideal morning conditions, carding eight birdies and just one bogey to add a 65 to his opening 69. That saw him set the early clubhouse target at ten under par, and with none of the afternoon starters able to catch him at the summit, he takes a slender one-shot lead into the weekend. He said: "I think any time we get to play in England, fans always come out and we have good support. I'm definitely enjoying that. As I said earlier, looking forward to the weekend. I think the crowds will be pretty special."

Bjerregaard in title contention again after contemplating giving up the game

A week on from finishing tied second on home soil at the Danish Golf Championship, Lucas Bjerregaard is again in the mix for a return to the DP World Tour winner’s circle. The Dane lost his card in 2022, but confidence has been building in recent weeks on the European Challenge Tour, with the first of three top tens in as many weeks coming at the 2024 Black Desert NI Open presented by Tom McKibbin last month. While feeling good about his game at the moment, the two-time DP World Tour winner admitted in a post-round interview in The Green Room he has contemplated giving up the sport in recent times. “My confidence sure as anything hasn’t been anywhere near enough where it was in my prime. It’s been tough, no doubt. I have felt very much alone, looking for answers and not finding anything. The more I tried, the less success I had. I think I was on the verge of giving up the game a little bit and that has helped me to just go out there and play a little care-free and not worry too much about it.”

Canter drains monster putt for eagle

Laurie Canter found the green in two at the par-five third but was still over 40 feet away from the cup as he stood over his mammoth eagle putt. Here's what happened next...

Beef in no hurry to lose his beard again

In a visit to The Green Room, the hugely-popular Andrew 'Beef' Johnston revealed he "didn't like it" when he shaved his beard off last year. With his trademark look now well and truly restored, he said he won't be reaching for the razor any time soon. He said: "Just over a year ago I pretty much clean-shaved it off and I didn't like it! I didn't like it at all. I caught myself in the mirror a couple of times and had to sort of double look. It hides everything. I'm not going to cut it that short again for a long time."

Campillo praises host course

Jorge Campillo spoke highly of The Belfry after following up his opening 68 with a 67 on Friday to head into the weekend just one shot off the lead. He said: "I like it. I enjoy playing here. Although I missed the last three cuts in this tournament, I played four years ago and I played good. But I enjoy it. It's a good challenge. You have some nice par threes, a few short par fives that you can birdie. Also, strong par fours."

Hill's short-game skills

Calum Hill did not have the kindest of lies in the rough around the fifth green but managed to produce this stunning chip shot for a hole-out birdie...