DP World Tour : Betfred British Masters Results
Daniel Hillier emerged from a crowded leaderboard on the final day at The Belfry to claim his maiden DP World Tour win.
The New Zealander began the final round three shots adrift of a six-way tie for the lead and still appeared a long shot when he reached the turn in one under 35. At the time, the European Challenge Tour graduate trailed by five from Dane Niklas Nørgaard, who had opened his day with three birdies in his first seven holes.
And while Niklas Nørgaard’s round hit a buffer either side of the turn, dropping four shots in as many holes, Hillier went eagle-birdie-eagle from the 15th before a nerveless two-putt par helped secure a two-shot victory. "I'm over the moon and a bit lost for words,” he said in the immediate aftermath of his victory at the Brabazon Course.
"Those last few holes are going to take a while to process I think.”
Hillier follows in the footsteps of countryman Bob Charles, who won this tournament in 1972, and the 24-year-old was thrilled to be in such illustrious company.
He added: "That's pretty amazing. Obviously, he's New Zealand's golfing hero so it's pretty cool to be on the same trophy as him.
As if a trophy and big move up the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex wasn’t enough for Hillier, victory also ensured his participation at this month’s Open Championship.
A two-time winner on the European Challenge Tour, he will make his second appearance in The Open after his debut at Royal St George’s two years ago.
He will be joined at Royal Liverpool by American Gunner Wiebe and Englishman Oliver Wilson, who finished joint runner-up together on an eight-under-par total of 280 to claim the other two spots on offer to the highest finishes not already exempt.
Former World Number One Justin Rose cast an upbeat mood as he closed out his week with a bogey-free 69 to claim a share of fourth place.
A past winner and former host of this event, the 2013 U.S. Open Champion was targeting a first DP World Tour win since the 2018 Turkish Airlines Open on the back of a resurgence this year.
Victory at Pebble Beach on the PGA TOUR in February was his first in four years and he finds himself comfortably in the world’s top 50, ranked 28th following the latest update on Monday.
With both the Genesis Scottish Open and The Open on the horizon, Rose is now hopeful he can build on this performance as he looks to improve his hopes of Ryder Cup selection at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in September.
“This week has been a good test of everyone’s game I think,” he said. “It is a good benchmark of where you are at.
“Normally you would say that about a U.S. Open but I felt this week the parameters of the fairways and how tight you had to hit the ball, I just thought it was a way to get a good read on my game.
“So, I am happy with how I passed that test and hopefully I can build on that over the next few weeks.”
europeantour.com
Bryan Angus (edit)
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