Lucas Bjerregaard captured his maiden European Tour title at the Portugal Masters, after finishing four shots clear of the field at the Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course in the Algarve.
The 26-year-old Dane, who was 114th on the Race to Dubai rankings before the start of the tournament, and battling to save his card, fired eight birdies in a closing 65 to finish on 20 under par, and four clear of Scotland’s Marc Warren.
This was the third time in his career that Bjerregaard had held a 54-hole lead, and this time he made it count, after losing out at the 2015 UBS Hong Kong Open and the 2016 Volvo China Open.
With George Coetzee, Graeme Storm and Eddie Pepperell also among the chasing pack, the Dane fired back-to-back birdies at the 10th and 11th to pull three shots clear, and although he dropped a shot on the 14th after finding sand off the tee, he picked up his seventh and eighth birdies of the day on the 15th and 17th to complete a commanding victory.
Warren, who came into the week even further back in the money list, at 173rd, boosted his chances of retaining his card with a closing 67, aided by an eagle on the 17th. He finished in outright second place after Coetzee found water at the last and ran up a triple bogey. Storm and Pepperell tied for third on 15 under par, with home favourites Ricardo Gouveia and José-Filipe Lima a shot further back.
“I’ve played on the European Tour for four years now, and been in contention a few times but never made it across the line; so to do it now, feels amazing,” said the winner. “You start to doubt it’s ever going to happen, and you know you need a week where it all comes together. Thankfully, that week was this week.”
He added: “It’s been a terrible year so far for me, so I knew I needed a couple of good weeks to keep my card. But to win here changes everything.”