Niklas Nørgaard held his nerve to clinch his maiden DP World Tour title by two shots at the 2024 Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo, while Simon Thornton shot a level-par 72 for a T62 finish.
Thornton, who was making his first DP World Tour start in two years, will be a little disappointed with his finish however, as he recorded three successive bogeys to close out the week.
Three birdies and two bogeys on the front nine saw him turn at -1, and another bogey on 11 was sandwiched by birdies on 10 and 12 and when he picked up another by rolling in a 12-footer on the 15th, ending the week at level-par was an outside possibility.
It didn’t materialise, however, and the tough closing stretch at the Belfry came out on top as he slipped back to +5. Still, he’ll take plenty of positives out of the week and he’ll now turn his attention to the Amgen Irish Open in his hometown in a fortnight’s time.
32-year-old Nørgaard has had his best season since graduating from the European Challenge Tour in 2022 after a runner-up spot at the Soudal Open in May before coming home in fourth at the European Open the following week.
Nørgaard was the co-leader after 54 holes in this event last year before eventually finishing in seventh, and he put himself in the same position albeit on his own and with a four-shot advantage heading into Sunday’s final round at The Belfry.
South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence closed the gap to within one just after the turn, but two birdies in three holes saw the Dane regain his four-shot lead with four holes remaining.
A double-bogey seven increased the heart rate with Lawrence sat two behind before calming himself with a par-birdie-par finish to secure victory at 16 under.
“Very, very good. Since I started playing golf at 10, this is what I’ve been dreaming of. The scene here is something, it means the world,” an emotional Nørgaard said after his final round of 72.
“It’s my mum, my dad, my sister, my wife. They have sacrificed a lot, me not being home and helping me become the player I’ve tried to become has been such a huge help.
“I was trying not to think too much about it, but this morning I nearly threw up at breakfast because I was just so nervous. It helped being out on the course.
“And then I made that show at hole 15 and I thought ‘did I give it away there?’. I’m just very happy how it ended here.
“I wasn’t very nervous there, I’m just very bad at chipping sometimes! But the important one was that putt at 17 there.
“I tried not to think about it too much but this hole 18 can get the most of you. I was just happy to find the fairway, and then the (Danish) guys coming on to 18th green was special.”
Nørgaard made a nervy start by registering a bogey at the second after getting stuck behind the trees with his wayward tee-shot.
The Dane responded with a birdie or better for the fourth day in a row at the par-five third to return to 16 under, but he had one eye on playing partner Jeong weon Ko.
The Frenchman produced a stunning bunker shot at the second to card his first gain of the round before adding another at the next. He completed his hat-trick at the fifth from 12 feet to become Nørgaard’s closest rival three shots back.
Lawrence joined Ko at 13 under with a birdie at the fifth before the latter slipped back one with a bogey at the sixth.
The lead was cut to two strokes when Nørgaard lipped out his par putt from three feet at the eighth, with Ko returning to 13 under on his own after a cool birdie putt at the ninth and Lawrence bogeying the same hole.
The South African hit back with a tap-in gain at the tenth and when he rolled in his birdie putt from 17 feet at the next, he was one behind the leading Dane at 14 under.
Some would have buckled under the intense pressure but Nørgaard kept his cool from 28 feet to pick up only his second shot of the day at the 12th to get back to 16 under, which proved vital as Lawrence missed his short par putt to slip back to three shots adrift alongside Ko.
Nørgaard increased his advantage to four strokes with a brilliant 31 foot putt at the 14th to reach 17 under for the first time in the tournament.
The pressure ramped up when he struggled in the greenside rough at the 15th, needing four blows to get out of a thick Sutton Coldfield shrub for a double bogey to see his lead get cut to two before salvaging a par at the next to maintain his advantage.
Nørgaard found the bunker with his second shot at the par-five 17th and settled the nerves with a 13 foot birdie to stay two clear, just moments after Lawrence had also rolled in for a gain.
He negotiated the testing finale, with Lawrence failing with his birdie putt as Nørgaard sealed victory with a par.
Lawrence signed for final-round 70 for the runner-up spot, two shots clear of Denmark’s Rasmus Højgaard who climbed up to third at 12 under after mixing nine birdies and two bogeys in his 65.
A double bogey on the last saw Ko slip down to 11 under, while Swede Jesper Svensson was one stroke adrift in sole fifth and Italian Matteo Manassero and Spain’s Jorge Campillo were at nine under.
Matt Wallace carded his third straight 68 to claim outright eighth at eight under, while fellow Englishman Andrew Wilson, Malaysia’s Gavin Green and German Maximilian Rottluff rounded off the top ten one shot further back.
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