Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen birdied the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to defeat Eddie Pepperell of England and Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger and win the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation.
Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen birdied the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to defeat Eddie Pepperell of England and Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger and win the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation.
It was a battle for survival around the challenging Northern Irish links and only four players shot under-par rounds on the final day. One of those to do so was England’s Eddie Pepperell. He produced a superb 68 to set a clubhouse total of two-under-par.
The three remaining protagonists then returned to the par-5 18th to settle the event over extra holes. Kjeldsen played the hole well with a drive down the middle and a second shot to the putting surface. Both Wiesberger and Pepperell took less conventional routes. In the end, Pepperell was left with a birdie chip, which didn’t drop, and Wiesberger was unable to hole his birdie effort from the back of the green.
Having played a reasonable approach putt, Kjeldsen then faced a putt for a birdie and the win. He watched on anxiously as it rattled around the hole, but it eventually dropped. It was Kjeldsen’s fourth European Tour victory, but his first since the 2009 Open de Andalucia.
Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation Royal County Down Golf Club, Newcastle, Northern Ireland May 28-31 Purse: €2,500,000, par 71
