Daniel Hillier 'gobsmacked' after late eagle-birdie-eagle burst wins British Masters

No wonder he was “gobsmacked”. With just four holes to go, after all, it didn’t really look as though Kiwi Daniel Hillier was in with a chance of winning the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo at The Belfry.

Daniel Hillier poses for a photo with host Sir Nick Faldo after winning the Betfred British Masters at The Belfry. Picture: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images.

Fast finishes, though, are becoming a trend in this event on the Brabazon Course. Twelve months after Dane Thorbjorn Olesen ended eagle-birdie to land the title, Hillier came up with something even more dazzling.

The 24-year-old went eagle-birdie-eagle from the 15th before getting up and down at the last for a par. It saw him sign off with a 66 for a ten-under-par total, winning by two shots from American Gunner Wiebe and Englishman Oliver Wilson.

As an added bonus, the trio all secured spots in the 151st Open at Royal Liverpool, with Hillier suddenly finding himself having to scrap some travel arrangements for his exciting opportunity in the season’s final major.

“Late change of plans,” he said of no longer heading to the United States to play in the Barbasol Championship and Barracuda Championship - two events co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and PGA Tour. “But I'm not complaining. It's going to be a pretty awesome experience playing the Open again, so I can't wait.”

On a day when a posse of players started out with a realistic chance of grabbing glory in the Midlands, Dane Niklas Norgaard covered the opening seven holes in three under to open up a two-shot lead only for his bid to be scuppered by three shots being spilled at the eighth and ninth, where he missed a tiddler.

By the time everyone was through the ninth, it was anyone’s guess who’d come out, with Scottish duo Ewen Ferguson and Calum Hill giving it a good go on the back nine and Justin Rose also getting into the mix before they all ended up in a share of fourth spot.

Hillier made his move by rolling in a 40-footer for the first of his eagles at th 15th, birdied the 16th from a fairway bunker then rounded off his brilliant burst by hitting a 6-iron to six feet at the 17th.

“I'm gobsmacked," said the winner. "I think it's going to take me a while to process to be honest. Early on in the day I was not feeling it at all. I was a little bit uncomfortable with the driver, didn't have many chances but obviously knew there were some chances coming in. I didn't think I would take them that well, but obviously pretty ecstatic.

"I'm not going to lie, I was definitely looking at the leaderboard and seeing my name up there and thinking about what it would be like to finish it off, but it's all a bit of a blur really.”

Wiebe, who had missed the cut in 13 of his last 14 events after securing his card at last year’s Qualifying School, also closed with a 66, which was a remarkable effort given it contained a triple-bogey 7 at the eighth. But an eagle, which came at the third, and seven birdies ensured it was a day to remember for the 34-year-old. “Yeah, I'm really proud of myself,” he said. “I knew I had really good stuff this week and didn't quite put it together the first three, but obviously today I'm happy with how I played for sure.”

His dad, Mark, won twice on the PGA Tour and, on the back of being the 2013 Senior Open champion, played in the 2014 Open at Royal Liverpool. “It's the major that I've adored since I was a kid,” said Wiebe. “It was on at 6.00 when I woke up in the morning. I'd watch till 2.30 when the coverage ended, and I would go try to hit shots that I saw on TV.

“And it's also the last major that my dad played was 2014 at the same course. That was his 500th career start and it was his final major. So I knew what I was playing for this week for sure. If I could somehow stay where I am, and get to where he kind of sort of ended his career in a way, that's pretty special.”

World No 31 Rose, the highest-ranked player in the field, signed off with a 69 in the company of Bob MacIntyre. “I've enjoyed it,” said Rose. “Crowds were really rooting me on. Felt like I was struggling with momentum in the middle of the tournament, obviously sensing their frustration, and I was getting a little frustrated, too, because obviously I really want to play well here at home.

“But today I felt very good. I felt like was on the front foot more most of the day. I did well I thought through the middle of front nine to keep it together, a couple of nice par saves, and then I really found my rhythm I thought on the back nine and obviously gave myself an opportunity.”

His next assignment is the Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club before trying to land an Open win on English soil. “This week has been a good test of everyone's game I think and it's a good sort of benchmark on where you're at,” said the 2012 US Open champion.

“Normally you say that about a US Open, but I felt like this week, the parameters, the fairways, how tight you had to hit the ball this week, I actually thought it was a really good week to get a read on your game. So quite happy with the test and the way I passed that test and can hopefully build on that the next few weeks.”

After a disappointing 76, MacIntyre ended up in a tie for 39th on level par, four behind David Law after his last-day 70 containing five birdies.