After a pair of late bogeys on the 14th and 15th holes it seemed as if Thorbjorn Olesen’s chances at the Betfred British Masters were shot.
Then for the second consecutive day the Dane eagled the 17th and birdied the 18th holes at The Belfry in England to win his sixth DP World Tour title and first since the 2018 Italian Open.
Olesen began the day with a three-shot lead and won by just one over Sebastian Soderberg, who shot a 4-under 68 to finish solo second at 9 under. Connor Syme, Richie Ramsay and Justin Walters finished T-3 at 8 under.
“It was obviously a pretty tough day and hit a lot of shots to the left,” said Olesen, who dropped shots on Nos. 1, 6 and 9. “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,” he explained. “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.”
Over his seven previous starts this year Olesen made the cut five times but earned just one top-20 finish. The win is his first since being suspended after he was charged with sexual assault, being drunk on an aircraft and assault, but the 32-year-old was cleared of all charges last December.