There was double joy for Ireland as both Paul Dunne and Gavin Moynihan pocketed big bonuses for A-grade finishes at the Made in Denmark presented by FREJA on Sunday.
Not much was happening for Dunne as he negotiated his first eleven holes in even par having traded one birdie and one bogey over his outward half. However, patience proved key for the Greystones swinger as he burst into life on the homeward stretch, picking up birdies at 12, 14, 15 and 16 to sign for a timely 67 and a share of fourth position at nine-under par.
“I’m definitely happy with the week,” reflected Dunne, who picked up a monster cheque worth €109,440 for the barnstorming finish.
“I could see the scoring was better than previous days so to make the turn and know I was a little bit behind everyone, it was nice to have a good finish coming in to pick up a few quid on the last few holes.”
Dunne’s winning GolfSixes partner, Gavin Moynihan was another who enjoyed an extremely profitable trip to Himmerland. The Dubliner had been battling to make the cut after a day one 74 but finished like a train with a five-under par 66 to grab a share of 16th spot – his best finish since tying 12th at Oman in March.
“I’m delighted,” said a beaming Moynihan, who had at least €41,400 reasons to smile post round – almost double what he won in Muscat.
“It’s a round that’s been coming for quite a while and I was really happy to move up the board. I’m looking forward to the rest of the year now and we’ll see if we can improve on that finish.”
The result may well prove a real turning point for the Mount Juliet professional, who has a lengthy list of exciting starts upcoming over a busy summer period.
“I’ve a busy schedule coming up. I’ll hopefully be playing most tournaments from now until October so we’ll see how we go.
“This week was a slightly bigger money event than we’ve had the last few weeks. I’ve the Irish Open coming up obviously. Valderrama as well – I did well there last year – the GolfSixes with Paul. There’s a few venues that I’m really looking forward to.
“And the game is slowly getting there. I’m looking forward to next week [in Belgium]. It’s a tight, old school golf course – or so a lot of the boys have said so it should be fun.”
At the summit, Bernd Wiesberger won his fifth European Tour title after a thrilling final day battle with Robert MacIntyre.
The Austrian was out for seven months last year due to a wrist injury but is now back in the winner’s circle in his 13th event since making his comeback on the 2019 Race to Dubai, and for the first time since the 2017 Shenzhen International.
“I’m over the moon,” said the winner. “It’s been an emotional couple of days, but it’s been great playing well over here and getting back into the winner’s circle after a couple of hard months. That’s behind me hopefully and I’m looking forward to what’s ahead.
“I’ve not looked at a single leaderboard all day other than ours. I thought the way we played there was virtually no chance that someone could get close, especially after 15 holes or so it was just like one on one.
“I got up on him a couple at 16 and 17 but nothing that takes away from his amazing performance this week. He played so well a couple of weeks ago in Hillside as well and he’ll get one very soon, I told him that. It was a very good experience being in that match play situation.
“I had so many great people helping me and getting me back to where I am right now. I’ve had so much support, it’s been amazing, and I’m proud to pay it back that way. I’m so thankful to so many people who have been there for me in the last year”
Wiesberger started the day a shot clear of playing partner MacIntyre at Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort but the duo could not be separated after 15 holes, with both men producing some stunning golf.
Wiesberger hit a wonderful tee shot to birdie the par three 16th and, with the Scot going out of bounds off the 17th tee, the 33-year-old took a two shot lead up the 18th.
He then made a bogey on the last after finding a hazard off the tee to sign for a round of 66 and get to 14 under par, sealing a one shot victory after MacIntyre parred the last.
For the 22-year-old European Challenge Tour graduate, it is a second consecutive runner-up finish in just his 15th European Tour event.
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