The 24-year-old closed the storm-interrupted final round with a six under 65 to reach 17 under at Himmerland and claim his third European Tour title over Wales’ Bradley Dredge.

Pieters grabbed the lead early when he rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt, his third of the round, at the 8th hole. Play was then suspended for more than four hours and when they returned, the Belgian stumbled with a soft bogey at the 9th. He gained that shot back two holes later with a birdie, while Dredge kept the pressure on with two birdies of his own at the 10th and 11th holes.

When Dredge hit the lead he appeared to adopt a conservative game plan of grinding out pars, while Pieters made his move with aggressive iron play, attacking flags with incredible accuracy.

Thomas Pieters pumps his fist after making his third consecutive birdie to close out the tournament. PHOTO: Andrew Redington/Getty Images

At the par-3 16th, Pieters almost holed his tee shot for an ace and was left with a tap-in birdie. He had another kick in birdie at the par-4 17th when his pitch shot spun to a halt less than a foot from the cup. On the long par-4 18th, he found the fairway with his drive and smoothed a 5-iron onto the green and within six feet of the hole. He duly converted the birdie and was in the clubhouse leading by two shots.

Dredge, who has gone a decade without a win, drained a long birdie at the final hole to claim outright second which will assist him to retain his European Tour card for next season.

FINAL LEADERBOARD

For Pieters, the win was validation for some impressive golf played during the past month. He was fourth in the Olympics and was runner-up in his defence of the Czech Masters title last week. It was also his fifth top-4 finish of the 2016 season, which sends a clear message to European Ryder Cup team captain Darren Clarke that Pieters should be one of his three wildcard picks.

Pieters, who played alongside Clarke in the first two rounds when he shot 62-71, said he’s over all the speculation and has done as much as he can to influence the captain, who is faced with selecting three wildcard players.

“To be honest, I've had enough of it now, all the talk about the Ryder Cup,” Pieters said. “So we'll just find out tomorrow. He's got plenty of good players to pick from, so if he doesn't pick me, then so be it, and I'll work my butt off to get there in the next one."

“I've done all I can now and I'm just really pleased with this win to be honest.” - Thomas Pieters

Clarke has three wildcard spots to fill with England’s Lee Westwood and two-time major champion Martin Kaymer, of Germany, likely to take two of the spots.

Kaymer, who finished tied sixth in Denmark, said if he was captain he would select Pieters without hesitation.

“He would be my pick, that's for sure, because he brings something special to the team,” Kaymer said of Pieters. “He hits the ball far and he's very good on short game and obviously he proved that he can play under pressure very well, and he's a nice guy.

“So if I would be the captain – fortunately I'm not because it's a tough decision, but I would pick Thomas for sure.”

Clarke is expected to name the remainder of his team this week.