BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) \u2014 Joe Dean, a former grocery delivery driver ranked No. 292, captured his first European tour title by shooting 9-under 63 to win the British Masters with his wife on the bag on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The 32-year-old Englishman started the final round seven strokes off the lead at The Belfry but made nine birdies \u2014 including four on his last six holes \u2014 to finish the week on 14-under par and move into the lead with the late starters still having holes to play.<\/p>\n
No one could catch him, with four players \u2014 Nacho Elvira (69), third-round leader Daniel Hillier (73), Niklas Norgaard (71) and Jakob Skov Olesen (71) \u2014 tying for second place, three shots back.<\/p>\n
This was the first tournament in Team Europe\u2019s qualifying process for next year\u2019s Ryder Cup, so that\u2019s suddenly an unlikely target for Dean \u2014 quite the turn of events for someone who spent time delivering groceries during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and kept doing it for nearly four years to help fund his career when he didn\u2019t have a card.<\/p>\n
\u201cI enjoyed it for most of the time,\u201d Dean said of his old part-time job. \u201cObviously it’s a completely different life, a completely different lifestyle. I still see the vans going up and down the road every now and then, and I keep in touch.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was a family success, too. Dean got married to Emily following the British Open in July and she was his caddie this week.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can’t thank her enough for what she has to put up with, with me,\u201d Dean said. \u201cIt was bad enough off the course, with the lows and stuff. Now it’s on and off the course. I hope I made her proud.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marco Penge tied for sixth place with a final-round 72, marking a solid start to Ryder Cup qualifying after he failed to get selected as a captain\u2019s pick two years ago in a breakout season on the European tour that contained three wins.<\/p>\n
Penge acknowledged this week it was the correct call by captain Luke Donald, whose team went on to win 15-13 at Bethpage Black.<\/p>\n
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