Niklas Nørgaard held his nerve to clinch his maiden DP World Tour title by two shots at the British Masters held at The Belfry.
The 32-year-old Dane posted a closing level par round of 72 to clinch his maiden victory on 16 under par, two shots clear of Thriston Lawrence, who halved the overnight deficit but could not catch Nørgaard.
Nørgaard started the day four strokes clear of the South African but was forced to fight for his breakthrough victory on a dramatic final day at the four-time Ryder Cup venue..
He cancelled out a bogey at the second with a birdie at the very next hole, but three-putted the par four eighth as he made the turn at one over par but still in control at the top of the leaderboard.
Nørgaard birdied both of the back nine’s par threes to re-open a four-stroke advantage, but the charge towards his maiden title threatened to spiral away from him at the 15th.
NERVES OF STEEL
He missed the green with his second shot into the par five, before seeing his pitch from 23 yards come up short of the green. He then took another three attempts to reach the green with his ball buried in the thick greenside rough, before eventually going down for a double-bogey seven.
However, he showed nerves of steel at the next hole, holing an eight-footer for par to steady the ship before going on to birdie the 17th and ensure he would take a two-stroke lead down the Brabazon’s iconic 18th hole.
As it transpired, the hole that has witnessed everything in the game etched another memorable moment into its storied tapestry, with Nørgaard’s par enough to see him become the third Danish winner of the British Masters, joining Thomas Bjørn and Thorbjørn Olesen on the list of champions.
South African Lawrence came up just short in his quest for a fifth DP World Tour title but moved up to second on the Race to Dubai with his second place finish.
Another Dane, Rasmus Højgaard, posted an impressive seven under round of 65 to finish third on 12 under, one clear of Frenchman Jeong weon Ko who held on to fourth place despite a closing double bogey.