BRADLEY Dredge had to settle for second place and a £177,000 pay cheque in the Made in Denmark tournament.

The Blackwood golfer looked set for a first European Tour title in 10 years after a third round 72 gave him a one shot lead heading into Sunday’s final round.

Dredge birdied the last hole to finish with a 67 but Belgium’s Thomas Pieters secured the title with a round of 65 and a 17 under par winning total.

It was a second runner-up finish at this event for Dredge after he lost out in 2014 to Marc Warren.

Pieters had started the week as the form player in the field after finishing fourth at the Olympics and second in his defence of the D+D Real Czech Masters last week, and he opened with a stunning 62 in the presence of European Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke on Thursday.

But equally as impressive was the way he closed the tournament at Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort, nearly acing the iconic par three 16th hole but settling for birdie, and then also picking up shots on the final two holes.

Pieters shrugged off a four-hour-and-15-minute weather delay midway through the final round, and a fruitless search for a lost ball on the last hole from playing partner Joakim Lagergren, to finish one shot clear of overnight leader Dredge.

Spaniard Adrian Otaegui and American David Lipsky both shot rounds of 67 to share third position on 15 under par.

Joakim Lagergren eventually made a triple bogey on the last hole to drop back to 13 under par, finishing in fifth position, while another player hoping to make the Ryder Cup team, Martin Kaymer, closed with a round of 68 to share sixth place on 11 under par with South African Jaco Van Zyl.

Local favourite Søren Kjeldsen delighted the home crowd with a closing 66 to get to ten under par, sharing eight place alongside Portugal's Ricardo Gouveia.

Dredge said: “Again, it was good chance to win, and 67 is a decent score out there but at the end of the day, it wasn't overly difficult today.

“The pins were a bit tricky in places but obviously the double-bogey on the second didn't really help my cause. I came back well but ultimately just fell one short in the end. Thomas did a tremendous job there.

“I'm in good position but I want to win some tournaments,” he added.

“It’s nice to come in second but I want to be holding the trophy at the end of the day. I really enjoy it here. I get on well with the guys and enjoy the golf course, crowds are great so I'll always be back.”