Round 4 - Lucas Bjerregaard claims first tour title

September 24, 2017

Lucas Bjerregaard fired a final-round 65 to ease to a four-shot victory at the Portugal Masters and win his first individual European Tour title on Sunday.

The 26-year-old, who won the inaugural GolfSixes event in May with compatriot Thorbjorn Olesen, started the last day with a one-stroke advantage and never looked like letting it slip as he finished the tournament on 20 under par.

The only player who put pressure on the 387th-ranked Bjerregaard was George Coetzee, but the South African ran out of steam on the back nine before posting a triple bogey on the 18th hole.

That allowed Marc Warren to finish second alone on 16-under overall.

Round 3 - Lucas Bjerregaard takes over lead

September 23, 2017

Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark led the Portugal Masters by one shot after carding a 3-under-par 68 in the third round on Saturday.

Bjerregaard made birdies on the third, fifth, and 10th holes. Then, after stumbling with two bogeys, he rebounded with birdies on the 15th and 17th to finish strong. He's at 14-under 199 overall.

Bjerregaard is seeking his first win on the European Tour. He recorded four top-five finishes in 2015, but has been erratic since.

''It's been a rough year for me so to be in contention again feels really good,'' he said. ''I've been seeing my game go in the right direction the last month or so. I'm in a place where I'm still building confidence but it feels good. This is what we play for, this is where I want to be. I'm looking forward to tomorrow.''

George Coetzee (67) is one shot behind, followed by overnight leader Nino Bertasio (71), Eddie Pepperell (68) and Marc Warren (70), who were all two strokes back at 12 under.

Another six golfers were three shots off the pace.

Round 2 - Nino Bertasio edges ahead

September 22, 2017

Nino Bertasio led the Portugal Masters after shooting a second consecutive round of 6-under-par 65 on Friday.

The Italian golfer will enter the third round with a one-shot lead over Marc Warren of Scotland (64) and Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark (65).

Bertasio hit six birdies on a blemish-free day at Victoria Golf Course.

''I'm feeling good,'' Bertasio said. ''I had a bogey-free round and it was very easy golf. I just missed one green and I chipped it to one foot so I never really struggled to make pars.''

Joost Luiten (68), who had a share of the lead after the first round, and Jason Scrivener (67) were two strokes behind.

Round 1 - Joost Luiten & George Coetzee share lead

September 22, 2017

Joost Luiten of the Netherlands and George Coetzee of South Africa each shot 7-under-par 64 to share the lead in the first round of the Portugal Masters on Thursday.

Luiten had seven birdies in a bogey-free round in the morning at Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course, and Coetzee matched him in the afternoon after starting with six birdies in his first eight holes.

They take a one-stroke lead over Nino Bertasio of Italy, Gregory Havret of France, Jason Scrivener of Australia, Callum Shinkwin of England, and Ashun Wu of China.

''I'm very happy, 7-under, no bogeys, seven birdies - that's what you want every day,'' said Luiten, who missed three cuts in his last four tournaments. ''I knew my game wasn't far off and the good thing about golf is there's always next week. This week it feels nice.''

Coetzee had an impressive start and posted a 30 at the turn, but ended with a bogey and two birdies in his final nine holes.

''I read an article yesterday about 59-watch and after eight holes I was thinking, 'OK, if I birdie the next one and the next one and the next one...,''' he said. ''I guess I shot myself in the foot a little bit today but I was quite happy with the way things went.''

Coetzee missed four cuts in a row before finishing in a tie for third last week at the KLM Open.

''I've always played well around this track, posted some good finishes and I really enjoy the golf course,'' Coetzee said. ''It suits my eye pretty well.''

Defending champion Padraig Harrington shot 4-under 67 to finish in a tie for 16th.

Scores

 

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