Sweden’s Marcus Kinhult held off challenges from defending champion Eddie Pepperell, four-time winner Matt Wallace and Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre to win his first European Tour title at the Betfred British Masters.
Kinhult birdied the final two holes at Hillside Golf Club after dropping two strokes on the previous two holes, to finish one ahead of Pepperell, Wallace and MacIntyre, the young Scot chasing his first victory on just his 14th European Tour start.
There was a four-way tie on 15 under par when Kinhult and Wallace stood on the 18th tee, but Kinhult converted a birdie putt from eight feet to claim his maiden title.
MacIntyre looked to have dropped out of contention after a double-bogey seven on the par-five second, but he pulled a shot back on the fourth, and then played the back nine in five under to race up the leaderboard.
Pepperell, defending the title he won at Walton Heath in October, carded a final round 66, while Wallace, who shared the 54-hole lead with Kinhult, signed for a one under par round to join him and MacIntyre in second place.
Tournament host Tommy Fleetwood shared eighth on ten under par with five others, including Martin Kaymer.
Kinhult, who started the week ranked 210th in the world, said: “It’s unreal. I’ve been dreaming about winning on the European Tour for such a long time, and to finally do it is amazing. My knees were shaking on that final putt. Everything was shaking. It was a real fight today. I played solid the front nine, and then played okay at beginning of the back nine, but then made bogeys on 15 and 16. Then I just managed to hole two good putts on 17 and 18.”
He added: “This is a very prestigious event and a nice little trophy to have. To get it as my first win is special. I had a great first impression when I got here on Monday. I was just loving it here. The weather has been fantastic over the weekend and the crowds have been great all week. I was surprised to see that many coming out on the weekend, since it’s a Premier League day today.
Defending champion Eddie Pepperell said: “It was a good round, and I think I put up a good fight there from six back. Overall, it was very steady week – I only made two bogeys in 72 holes, which is remarkable for me. I kind of set myself a target of 17 under after the turn, and I expected the leaders to get to at least 16 or 17 in the end. The pins weren’t easy today and the pressure at the end playing with those guys, you can never be too sure. But fair play to Marcus. He’s been a good player for a while, so it is good to see him getting across the line.”
Tournament host Tommy Fleetwood commented: “I think it’s been a great tournament. My own performance wasn’t particularly good, so it was disappointing from a personal point of view, but speaking as the host, I couldn’t have asked for more from everybody who has turned out, or just watching or working at the event and volunteering. They all made it such a great event and very memorable for me.”
Betfred has already confirmed that it will sponsor next year’s British Masters, which is returning to Close House in Newcastle at the end of July 2020, with Lee Westwood, who is attached to the club, acting as host again.
Final scores:
272 M Kinhult (Swe) 65 69 68 70,
273 E Pepperell (Eng) 70 67 70 66, M Wallace (Eng) 65 67 70 71, R Macintyre (Sco) 68 69 68 68,
276 R Ramsay (Sco) 66 67 71 72,
277 J Smith (Eng) 68 74 67 68, P Waring (Eng) 72 70 68 67,
278 O Wilson (Eng) 71 71 67 69, M Kaymer (Ger) 68 71 73 66, R Paratore (Ita) 73 67 72 66, P Larrazábal (Esp) 71 71 70 66, J Luiten (Ned) 70 71 68 69, T Fleetwood (Eng) 68 69 68 73, N Lemke (Swe) 69 64 75 70,