Irish Open 2015: Soren Kjeldsen stays cool to land title

The Dane took a two-shot lead into the final round

Soren Kjeldsen (GETTY IMAGES)

Soren Kjeldsen won the Irish Open in dramatic circumstances after appearing to have let a fourth European Tour victory slip from his grasp.

The Dane took a two-shot lead into the final round and was one ahead with two holes remaining, despite being four over par for the day as the players battled heavy showers and gusting winds at Royal County Down.

A three-putt bogey on the 17th left Kjeldsen needing to birdie the last hole to win, but after chipping from one side of the green off the other, he did well to get up and down for par and a closing 76 to join England’s Eddie Pepperell and Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger in a play-off.

The players returned to the par-five 18th and, after finding the green in two and seeing his opponents fail to make birdies, Kjeldsen two-putted from 25 feet, although his birdie attempt did a full circuit of the hole before dropping.

“Three weeks ago, I was 112th in the Order of Merit and my game was not in good shape,” Kjeldsen said. “With turning 40 [a fortnight ago] you wonder, was that it? Now I am standing here and it’s pretty remarkable, really.”

Kjeldsen, whose last win had come in the Open de Andalucia in 2009, admitted he was feeling the pressure after his two-shot overnight lead disappeared on the first hole, which he bogeyed and playing partner Max Kieffer birdied.

The 40-year-old also bogeyed the second, but with the tough conditions sending scores soaring, a run of five pars was enough to put Kjeldsen back in front before a double-bogey on the eighth, where his first chip failed to reach the green and came back to his feet.

“The last breath I took was on about the 14th,” added Kjeldsen, who reclaimed the lead with his only birdie of the day on the 12th. “I’ve never been as nervous as this in other tournaments I’ve won.”

Kjeldsen also claimed one of the three places available in the Open Championship to players finishing in the top 10 who were not already exempt, with Pepperell and Tyrrell Hatton taking the others.