There was not much Justin Walters could do to stop the winner marching to victory in the DP World Tour’s Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willett on Sunday, but he did manage to finish in a share of third after a closing one-under-par 71.

Walters, who, just as in the third round, could not get important putts to drop, also battled a balky leg which actually gave way under him as he tried to play his approach to the third. But he fought off the effects of the bogey there, and of two more on the ninth and 15^th, and he made four birdies as he finished on eight-under-par for the week, two shots behind Thorbjorn Oleson.

The Dane, who led after 54 holes thanks to an eagle on 17 and a birdie on 18 in the third round, had slipped out of the reckoning and was four-over-par for the final round heading up the 17^th – two shots behind the clubhouse leader Sebastian Soderberg of Sweden. Incredibly, Olesen repeated his third-round heroics with two putts from outside 30 feet on the final two holes, making eagle on 17 and birdie on 18 again to snatch his sixth European Tour win, and his first in four years.

Behind all that drama, JC Ritchie played himself into the top 10 with a closing two-under-par 70. That put him in a share of eighth on six-under-par, and, but for a bogey-birdie-bogey finish down the stretch, he could have been even higher. It did, however, put him into 119^th on the DP World Tour rankings.

Justin Harding had a closing one-under 71 to finish in a share of 16^th on five-under, and Oliver Bekker also had a 71 to round out the week on three-under in a share of 27^th. Also on three-under was Daniel van Tonder who closed with a two-over 74. Thriston Lawrence was a shot further back in a share of 36^th together with George Coetzee. Brandon Stone was on 43^rd on one-under, Richard Sterne on three-over and Zander Lombard on eight-over.