Julian Suri announced his arrival on the European Tour in stunning fashion by claiming his maiden title after seeing off the challenge of David Horsey in a thrilling final round at the Made in Denmark.
American Suri produced a flawless 64 on Sunday to finish the week on 19 under par and secure his first victory in just his seventh European Tour event and secure his European Tour card until the end of 2019.
Horsey, who was one stroke adrift of playing partner Suri as they stood at the 18th tee, finished four shots back in second after carding a disappointing triple bogey at the last.
Suri, who won the D+D REAL Czech Challenge in May, becomes the third American to win on the European Tour and Challenge Tour, following in the footsteps of Brooks Koepka and Peter Uihlein.
Englishmen Ben Evans, Steve Webster and Chris Paisley were in a tie for third on 13 under par.
Suri, who began the day two shots behind overnight leader Horsey, picked up an early birdie at the second after sending his tee-shot to within three feet of the pin. The 26 year old then took the outright lead when he curled in from six feet for a birdie at the third before picking up another shot at the fourth to make it three birdies in a row.
And after holing his birdie putt at the seventh, Suri knocked in his six-foot birdie putt at the eighth to move to 17 under.
With Suri reeling off five straight pars from the ninth, Horsey joined him at the summit on 17 under after making back-to-back gains at the 11th and 12th. And the pair holed similar birdie putts from around 12 feet at the 14th to get to 18 under.
Suri then rolled in a brilliant putt from around 15 feet at the next to open up a one-shot lead.
And after safely finding the fairway with his tee-shot at the last, couple with Horsey losing his first drive from the tee, Suri cruised to victory with a par four get his hands on his first European Tour trophy.
Player quotes
Julian Suri: “This is the reason why you get up early every morning to practice, go to the gym and get prepared to succeed. This is a great feeling for sure.
“To have seven birdies and be bogey-free in the final round was really solid. I’m pretty proud of that. I just went out there today and tried to keep doing what I had been doing all week. I was hitting so good so I knew I could win if I kept doing that and thankfully it worked out.
“It was a blast out there. Especially in that atmosphere with the fans. It was really cool. Everybody is so enthusiastic out there, with such genuine appreciation for the game and spectacle. I just wanted to soak it up as much as I could.
“I love it when it comes down to two guys. I think it’s the epitome of our game and really the epitome of all sports.
“I feel like my game belongs at the top of the game. This is definitely something I’ve worked for and kind of expected for a long time. But to finally come out and do it, especially after the string of good finishes this summer, is really special.”
David Horsey: “I had a clumsy start and didn’t really hit it close enough and wasn’t quite firing in the first seven holes. But I managed to make a few birdies around the turn and it turned into a great battle to be honest. He played very well and thoroughly deserved his victory.
“When someone is playing as well as Julian was, you know that you are going to have make birdies and it really focuses you on what you have to do. It was a great battle – it’s just a shame I couldn’t put more pressure on him coming down the 18th.
“My game is coming on and the changes I am trying to make are starting to take effect. It’s still not quite where I want it but we are getting there and there are a lot positives to take from this for the rest of the year – hopefully I can finish the season strongly.”
Complete round four scores
265 J Suri (USA) 67 69 65 64;
269 D Horsey (Eng) 68 67 64 70;
271 S Webster (Eng) 64 70 69 68; C Paisley (Eng) 68 69 65 69; B Evans (Eng) 71 68 66 66;
272 B Hebert (Fra) 65 71 68 68; W Ormsby (Aus) 64 72 67 69; H Porteous (RSA) 70 67 68 67; M Wallace (Eng) 64 74 65 69;
273 M Siem (Ger) 66 74 67 66; J Daly (USA) 67 70 65 71; A Rai (Eng) 69 69 65 70; R Rock (Eng) 68 68 66 71;
274 M Warren (Sco) 71 64 70 69; P Dunne (Irl) 67 68 70 69; J Walters (RSA) 71 68 69 66; T Detry (Bel) 69 71 65 69; T Olesen (Den) 67 71 65 71;
275 N Elvira (Esp) 67 69 69 70; S Manley (Wal) 71 67 70 67; J Parry (Eng) 66 72 72 65; S Chawrasia (Ind) 67 68 71 69;
276 W Ashun (Chn) 71 65 73 67; S Kjeldsen (Den) 69 68 69 70; A Connelly (Can) 68 71 69 68; D Lipsky (USA) 66 71 69 70; P Widegren (Swe) 68 70 70 68;
277 B Ritthammer (Ger) 68 71 69 69; L Bjerregaard (Den) 66 72 68 71; E Pepperell (Eng) 71 69 68 69;
278 V Dubuisson (Fra) 66 71 69 72; O Lengden (Swe) 65 73 67 73; P Waring (Eng) 66 73 70 69; B Fritsch (Can) 71 71 67 69; J Lima (Por) 71 67 74 66; A Chesters (Eng) 69 71 69 69; G Havret (Fra) 68 69 65 76; A Björk (Swe) 69 70 71 68; M Kaymer (Ger) 69 71 67 71; R Green (Aus) 70 70 70 68;
279 N Johansson (Swe) 68 73 71 67; M Armitage (Eng) 73 68 70 68; J Hansen (Den) 66 71 71 71;
280 O Fisher (Eng) 69 71 72 68; P Peterson (USA) 70 72 66 72; L Jensen (Den) 67 69 69 75; T Bjørn (Den) 73 68 70 69; J Morrison (Eng) 66 74 70 70;
281 S Horsfield (Eng) 69 72 75 65; D Im (USA) 68 73 67 73; B Eccles (Aus) 69 70 70 72; C Pigem (Esp) 71 71 67 72; T Lewis (Eng) 67 72 71 71; J Dantorp (Swe) 70 70 72 69; K Horne (RSA) 71 70 71 69; M Søgaard (Den) 67 70 74 70;
282 R Finch (Eng) 71 68 69 74; F Fritsch (Ger) 72 70 72 68; S Heisele (Ger) 72 70 69 71;
283 O Wilson (Eng) 72 70 73 68; J Stalter (Fra) 72 70 72 69; D Drysdale (Sco) 70 71 72 70; L Canter (Eng) 69 72 70 72;
284 M Ovesen (Den) 69 73 71 71; E Molinari (Ita) 72 69 70 73; S Lee (Kor) 71 71 71 71;
285 J Roos (RSA) 70 69 74 72;
286 M Pavon (Fra) 66 72 74 74; R Karlsson (Swe) 65 74 72 75; S Khan (Eng) 72 69 74 71;
287 P Gal (Cze) 71 71 73 72;
295 L Cianchetti (Ita) 69 71 76 79;
