As Tom Lewis walked away from the 6th hole at the British Masters to leave Eddie Pepperell and Matteo Manassero to finish their putts, the disappointed 25-year-old tossed his ball into some bushes and strolled to the 7th tee where he stood in contemplation.

The Welwyn Garden City golfer had just turned in a bogey, leaving him three over par for the day with three to play in the first round at The Grove.

He stood alone staring out towards the course looking for answers, only to find a dreary, darkening sky to match his own mood.

Until then Lewis, who had teed off at 12.25pm on hole 10, had been playing with two-over for most of the afternoon.

He drove further off the tee than fellow Englishman Pepperell and Italian Manassero, but struggled to match that with the putter.

He bogeyed the 12th, where he landed on the banks of Devil’s Lake and wavered from there to the front of the green before recovering himself for what turned out to be a decent five.

He then bogeyed the 13th having dropped off the back of the green before picking up a birdie on the 15th. He then dropped another shot on the Par 3 16th with his putt breaking right before the hole.

He pulled one back on the 18th, but then dropped a further two shots on the 3rd and 6th to leave himself on three-over and heading into the final three holes.

By this time the light was starting to fade while the cold began to bite, but somehow Lewis found an inner belief to grasp control of his round.

On the Par 3 7th he landed left of the pin before tapping in for a much-needed birdie and suddenly the mood brightened.

After a decent approach he walked towards the green on the 8th with his arms firmly tucked under his armpits to keep them warm.

A nearby ice cream van stood lonely, not a customer in sight as people instead opted for hot chocolates and coffees to warm their poor bodies after four hours following Lewis’ group around this lush course.

Nearby conkers began to fall from a tree, some onto the green which saw Manassero flick them away with his foot while one landed on a lady who had taken shelter under the tree’s thick foliage.

She then sought safety, but not much solace, out from under its cover and into the biting cold.

None of this distracted Lewis as he sent in another birdie to put a small smile back on his face, a reaction that could not be dampened even when over the green on the 9th.

With the end of the round in sight he rolled his ball up the slope to within range and nudged it in for a par to leave him six shots behind the leaders after a day of ups and downs for the Welwyn GC star.