Marc Warren ended a seven-year winless drought and capture by two shots with a 17-under par total the inaugural Made in Denmark tournament.
The Callaway golfer, who has been knocking on victory’s door for some time, held off Welshman Bradley Dredge using a new 8.9 degree V-Series driver to capture his third Tour title but a first since winning the 2007 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.
And strangely Warren has now two victories in Scandinavia after capturing his maiden tournament in winning the 2006 Scandinavian Masters.
On Saturday Warren defied gusts of up to 30 mph to card a remarkable five under par 66 for a share of the overnight lead with Dredge.
Scotland’s Marc Warren back in the winner’s circle for a first occasion in seven years to capture the Made in Denmark tournament. (Photo – www.europeantour.com)
Warren capitalised on slightly lighter winds during the final round to shoot five birdies in a calm round of 68 for a competition score of nine under.
However he was pushed all the way by Dredge, who went round in 70 for seven under overall.
Warren’s win was particularly sweet after several recent near misses, including coming third at last month’s Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open and sharing second in the 2013 BMW PGA Championship.
“It feels incredible,” he said. “I felt the last couple of years I’ve been close to winning a couple of times but for whatever reason it hasn’t quite happened for me, whether I’ve made mistakes or someone else has played really well.
“This summer I feel more confident than I’ve ever done. Today I kept telling myself I was swinging the club really well and I was confident in what I was doing.”
Warren’s confidence ahead of this tournament was boosted by tying for 15th in the US PGA Championship last week.
He found the atmosphere at Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort, where more than 80,000 fans watched during the week, similar to Valhalla.
“This is a fantastic event for the European Tour,” Warren added. “There’s been rumours of an event in Denmark for a few years and now we are here and it is on; it has been incredible.
“The crowds have been amazing. To play in front of that has been amazing. Coming from the PGA last week, it definitely had that same feel to it. Coming down those last four holes, the crowds were so big.”
Dredge, the halfway leader, looked to have surrendered his challenge by bogeying three of the first seven holes on Sunday amid one birdie to drop back to four under.
Warren made two gains during that time to reach eight under but, after both birdied the par four eighth, suffered a bogey five at the next.
That encouraged Dredge, who picked up three shots in four holes from the 11th to move two behind the Scot.
However, Warren held that advantage, including with a monster putt at the par four 14th to match the Welshman’s birdie.
Dredge, whose last European Tour victory came at the 2006 Omega European Masters, explained his bitter-sweet sentiments.
“In a way there are mixed feelings in that if someone said they’d give me second at the beginning of the week it is a great result, considering I’ve not had a chance to win in a long time. But it was a chance to win a tournament,” he said.
“Marc did play really well and I didn’t play well enough, but it would have been nice to have pushed him a little harder coming down the last few.”
Warren and Dredge finished well clear of the rest, England’s Phillip Archer ending third on four under.
Home hero Thomas Björn was one shot back alongside Englishmen Oliver Fisher and Eddie Pepperell, who like Archer were all two under on Sunday.
Björn attracted a particularly large following among impressive crowds throughout the first European Tour event in Denmark since 2003.
