Four birdies in his opening six holes laid the foundation for Welshman Jamie Donaldson to win the D+D Real Czech Masters and also book a spot on the European Ryder Cup team.

Needing a top-seven finish to ensure a place on Paul McGinley’s team, the 28-year-old secured his place with a final round 68 to hold off compatriot Bradley Dredge by two-strokes. Donaldson had begun the day two shots behind Dredge but birdies at the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 6th holes of the Albatross course in Prague saw him take the lead.

Jamie Donaldson poses with the trophy happily knowing he'll be at Glenagles next month for the Ryder Cup. PHOTO: Getty Images Jamie Donaldson poses with the trophy happily knowing he'll be at Glenagles next month for the Ryder Cup. PHOTO: Getty Images

Denmark’s Søren Kjedson appeared to be the main threat to Donaldson in the final round, and took the lead with a birdie on the fifth after Donaldson bogeyed the fourth. Kjedson and Donaldson exchanged the lead once more before the Dane handed the Donaldson the lead with bogies on both the 8th and 9th holes. This gave the Welshman a one shot lead at the turn.

Donaldson managed to hold off Dredge to finish two-strokes ahead, with Kjedson and South Africa’s Merrick Brennan tied for third, finishing three shots behind.

“This is big – it’s been an amazing week,” Donaldson said. “I didn’t get here until late; I needed to play well either this week or next week, or both, to guarantee my place in The Ryder Cup Team so there was a lot on the line and this week I played really well, so that’s great.

“Winning is everything: wins shoot you up world rankings, Race To Dubai, all sorts. It’s massive – those three last holes coming in there were really tough with the wind blowing, so I’m just really happy to seal it.

“It’s so difficult to get into the team, the lads are playing so well. You know that you have to play well to secure your place and it did come down to the wire. But that’s how it is to get into the team – I played as well as I can play for 18 months, and then a couple of slow events and you rocket down the list, so it’s great to come here and play so well and do enough to get into the team.”

Another Ryder Cup hopeful, was Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher who finished tied for seventh after a final round 73 and will need a good showing at next week’s Italian Open to gain an automatic place in the team via the world list.

- Lukas Raschilla

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