Thomas Pieters birdies final three holes to snatch Made In Denmark title

Thomas Pieters continued his sparkling run of results and further enhanced his claims for a Ryder Cup place after he clinched a one-shot win at the storm-hit Made In Denmark.

The young Belgian birdied the final three holes to pull clear of the leading contenders, closing with a six-under 65 for a winning score of 17 under par following lengthy delays on the final day at Himmerland.

Pieters rolled in a 20-foot putt for his third birdie of the round on the eighth which took him into a one-stroke lead over Bradley Dredge, who had recovered from a double-bogey at the second with a birdie at the fourth and an eagle at the long sixth, before torrential rain and the threat of lightning forced play to be suspended.

The players returned over four hours later, and Pieters resumed with a disappointing bogey at the ninth but he got the shot back at 11 while Dredge, hunting for his first win in almost 10 years, climbed back into the lead with birdies at 10 and 11.

David Lipsky also picked up shots at the first two holes on the back nine, and he carded another birdie at 14 as Dredge and Pieters both failed to take advantage of the driveable par four.

Joakim Lagergren made it a four-way tie at the top of the leaderboard when he reeled off four successive birdies from the 14th, although his chances of a maiden European Tour win vanished when he hooked his drive into the trees at the last and the ball could not be found.

Dredge was content to play away from the flags and grind out the pars, but Pieters made a decisive move when he almost holed his tee shot and set up an easy birdie at the 16th, and he tapped in for another at 17 after a sublime pitch to six inches.

The Ryder Cup hopeful then blazed a perfect drive down the middle of the final fairway, and he displayed impressive composure following the fruitless search for Lagergren's ball to knock a sweet iron to five feet. He then rolled in the putt to go two shots clear of the chasing pack.

Dredge lifted his spirits when he drained a long putt for a closing birdie on the last green to get down in 67 which clinched outright second and a cheque for £170,000 that will go a long way to helping the Welsh veteran retain his European Tour card for next season.

Adrian Otaegui jumped into a share of third after he recovered from bogeys at 11 and 13 with three birdies over the next four holes to finish on 15 under alongside Lipsky, who could not find a birdie over the closing four holes as he settled for a blemish-free 67.

Lagergren's disappointment was evident when he tapped in for a triple-bogey seven at the last to slip to 13 under while Martin Kaymer, another leading candidate for a Ryder Cup wildcard, made his second eagle of the weekend at the sixth and went on to card a solid 68 which secured a tie for sixth place on 12 under par.

Home favourite Soren Kjeldsen was a further shot adrift after three late birdies gave him a 66, but the day belonged to Pieters as he gave European captain Darren Clarke a serious reminder of his abilities just two days before he announces his three wildcard picks for Hazeltine National.

Pieters just missed out on the medals at the Olympic Games in Rio, and he finished only one behind Paul Peterson in his defence of the Czech Masters title last week before lifting his third European Tour crown in Farso.

Don't miss Darren Clarke unveiling his three Ryder Cup captain's picks on Tuesday, live on Sky Sports News HQ from 12:30pm