Thorbjørn Olesen produced a sensational eagle-birdie finish for the second day running to win the Betfred British Masters by one shot.
It is the Dane’s sixth DP World Tour title and his first for almost four years.
Olesen began the day with a three-shot lead at The Belfry but trailed by two with two holes to play, before he followed a 30-foot eagle at the par-five 17th with a 36-footer for birdie at the 18th to celebrate a memorable victory and deny Sebastian Soderberg, who had earlier set the clubhouse target at nine under.
Eagle-Birdie finish 🤯@Thorbjornolesen made two consecutive putts of 30ft and 36ft to win for the first time in four years.
#BetfredBritishMasters pic.twitter.com/Vj7BrU6ZGb
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) May 8, 2022
Olesen began his round with a bogey after an errant tee shot, and despite a birdie at the par-five third saw him return to his overnight mark of 11 under, he hit several hooks as he made further bogeys at the 9th and 10th to turn in a three-over 38.
And after he was caught by the chasing pack early into the back nine, back-to-back bogeys at the 14th and 15th appeared to drop him out of contention as Soderberg made four birdies in a six-hole stretch on the back nine to card a 68.
But an inspired Olesen repeated his heroics from Saturday over the closing two holes once again to snatch victory in front of a sold-out crowd at the Brabazon Course.
Richie Ramsay had earlier looked set for victory when he birdied the 17th to reach 10 under, before he ran up a double-bogey at the 18th after finding the water with his approach shot to finish third on eight under, alongside fellow Scot Connor Syme and South Africa’s Justin Walters, with Challenge Tour Graduates Chase Hanna and Hurly Long a further shot back in a share of fifth.
Olesen said on Saturday evening he expected to feel the nerves as he sought to win for the first time since victory at the 2018 Italian Open and so it proved, but his experience helped him to remain in contention before his stirring finish saw him take the acclaim of the 15,000 strong crowd.
Victory sees him move up to 10th on the DP World Tour Rankings, up from 78th, and become the second Dane after Thomas Bjørn to win the event which boasts an illustrious roll of honour.
“It’s a massive tournament won by so many great names so it’s a privilege to have my name on the trophy,” Olesen said.
“It was obviously a pretty tough day and I hit a lot of shots to the left. I was really struggling. I somehow just kept going, and yeah, what a finish. Incredible.
“Standing on 17, I’m thinking I can make birdie, birdie and maybe get into a playoff. But obviously when I got the chance on 17, I prefer to take that. Eighteen is a tough hole, so par is a good score obviously. I just gave it everything.”
– Report from DP World Tour website
