A solid putting display over the 4 days, saw him finish 8th on the putting stats with an average of 28.7 and 4 shots back of winner Jeppe Huldahl, of Denmark, who held off Niclas Fasth and Ignacio Garrido to secure his maiden European Tour title at The Celtic Manor Wales Open.

The 26-year-old, who held the joint lead overnight, produced a nerveless display on the final day and didn't drop a shot on his way to a superb 67 and an aggregate score of nine under.Huldahl's performance was all the more remarkable considering he had never previously finished in the top ten on the circuit.

He becomes the ninth first-time winner on the 2009 European Tour schedule and follows Steen Tinning (2000), Simon Khan (2004) and Scott Strange (2008) as players to make The Celtic Manor Wales Open their first European Tour victory. On receiving the trophy, he said: "It feels amazing. I don't know what to say to be honest. I didn't even dream of this coming into this week.