Sam Horsfield is making a habit of going low and he was at it again on day three of the Betfred British Masters hosted by Lee Westwood as a stunning 61 sent him flying up the leaderboard.
The Englishman made headlines during the coronavirus hiatus when he carded a 59 in May playing with friends in Orlando and he was not far from matching the feat at Close House Golf Club.
Looking for a first European Tour win, the 23-year-old carded his lowest round since his 2015 debut by one shot, carding three eagles, five birdies and a single dropped shot in a ten under effort.
"I actually never thought about it until walking up the 18th fairway," he said of another potential sub-60 effort.
"I missed a couple of putts on 13 and 14 from 12, 15 feet and I said to my caddie walking up 18, 'I may as well hole it and try to shoot 59'.
3 eagles. 5 birdies. 61 shots.
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) July 24, 2020
Our new leader, @hr59sam ✍️#BetfredBritishMasters @Workday
"I didn't do that but I had it going today, which was nice.
"I felt like the first two days I was maybe pushing a bit too hard as I haven't played a tournament in four months. When you're playing at home it really doesn't matter.
"I spoke to a few friends last night, FaceTimed a few people, and they said, 'dude just go out there and play like you were playing at home, it's literally the same'. So that's what I tried to do today and I think it worked."
Horsfield made birdies on the first and third and, while he dropped a shot on the fourth, there was no stopping him after an eagle on the seventh.
He birdied the eighth and ninth and eagled the tenth to make it six shots gained in four holes, before he birdied the 16th and made a three on the par five 17th to register three eagles in a tournament round for the first time.
A 59 to brighten your Sundays, courtesy of @hr59sam 👏 pic.twitter.com/jfanDCkUrw
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) May 31, 2020
The 2017 Qualifying School graduate showed no signs of rust after the break, and revealed he has been playing frequently in Florida through the spring and early summer.
"They weren't overly strict in Florida, so the golf course that I play at stayed open," he said. "I was able to play basically every day and practise so I was quite lucky.
"It's weird being on a five hour time change from my friends now, it's hard to talk to them frequently. Obviously FaceTime and stuff like that is good. It's kind of challenging, I miss people from back there but I really enjoy being over here and competing.
"Thanks to Lee and the European Tour for getting this up and going. There was a point when I thought we were done for the year with all this corona stuff going on.
"We've got qualification for the U.S. Open, I think that's one of my main goals, to play my way into that. Really just play good golf, like I have been, don't try to hard. Today I didn't and I played pretty well."
Horsfield's round matched the score achieved by former British Masters champion Paul Dunne, who carded a nine under par 61 during his final round at Close House in 2017. At the time the par of the course was 70, and has since changed to 71.
