Andrew Dodt wins Avantha Masters

Australia’s Andrew Dodt emerged from a tightly bunched pack to claim his first European Tour victory at the Avantha Masters in New Delhi.

Andrew Dodt

Australia's Andrew Dodt emerged from a tightly bunched pack to claim his first European Tour victory at the Avantha Masters in New Delhi.

The 24-year-old who is a regular on the Asian Tour, birdied the final hole for a closing round of 68 to post the clubhouse lead on 14-under-par, a single shot clear of England's Richard Finch.

Barry Lane and Richard Bland had chances to catch Dodt, but both stumbled as their rounds reached a climax. Lane missed a short par putt on the 17th then a five-footer for birdie on the 72nd green.

Bland came to the 18th tee needing a birdie to join Dodt at the top of the leaderboard. But, he pulled his tee shot into the trees and his ball ended stymied against a tree root. He required two shots to extricate himself from the trouble and, in the end, did well to limit the damage to a bogey six.

Lane and Bland finished in a tie for third with Scotland's David Drysdale and Tetsuji Hiratsuka of Japan.

For Dodt, ranked 195th in the world going into this tournament, the victory gives his career a significant boost. He's now exempt for two years on the European Tour.

Avantha Masters DLF Golf and Country Club, New Delhi, India Feb 11-14, purse €1,500,000, par 72

1    Andrew Dodt (Aus)    67    68    71    68    274    €250,000 2    Richard Finch (Eng)    69    69    71    66    275    €166,660 T3    Richard Bland (Eng)    68    71    66    71    276    €71,250 T3    David Drysdale (Sco)    68    67    71    70    276    €71,250 T3    Tetsuji Hiratsuka (Jap)    73    62    70    71    276    €71,250 T3    Barry Lane (Eng)        67    67    71    71    276    €71,250 7    Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 68 71 66    72    277    €45,000 T8    Yih-Shin Chan (Tpe)    65    68    72    73    278    €29,775 T8    Darren Clarke (NIR)    71    66    70    71    278    €29,775 T8    Oliver Fisher (Eng)    70    67    71    70    278    €29,775 T8    Jeppe Huldahl (Den)    71    70    66    71    278    €29,775 T8    Jason Knutzon (USA)    70    67    72    69    278    €29,775 T8    Steven O'Hara (Sco)    69    73    67    69    278    €29,775

Note: Player scores in bold signifies Titleist ball usage only

Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?