Eddie the eagle soars to Sky Sports  British Masters victory

The image of Eddie Pepperell must be credited to Getty Images

Final Report
Eddie Pepperell provided a moment of pure magic on the way to winning the Sky Sports British Masters wire-to-wire, holing out from the heavy rough for an eagle two before battling to a second European Tour title of the season.
The victory, which came courtesy of a level par final round 72, means the Englishman is close to rubber-stamping a debut at the Masters Tournament in 2019, and the 27 year old moved to seventh position in the Race to Dubai after an eventful week.
Pepperell produced another remarkable shot on the opening day at Walton Heath Golf Club, holing his tee shot on the ninth hole which came after the ball bounced straight into the hole, popped back out and rolled back in again for the first hole-in-one of his professional career.
Having been top of the leaderboard after every round - sharing the lead after day one before breaking clear at the top - Pepperell battled bravely in the testing, wet conditions at the Surrey venue.
A steady front nine was followed by a spectacular hole-out eagle on the tenth, and although he stumbled on the difficult closing stretch, he overcame playing partner Alexander Björk by two shots to add to the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters title he won in February.
The tournament host, World Number Two Justin Rose, finished strongly as a two under par 70 earned him an eighth place finish on three under par.
Player quotes:
Eddie Pepperell
"I'm very pleased. It was a grind, tough day with the conditions. I played really well today, and I'm just thankful I got myself a nice lead. I needed it.
"It was just a case of hanging in all day. It was miserable. When I said British weather yesterday, I didn't expect it to be quite so miserable, but I'm thrilled to be stood here with the trophy.

"It was an all right lie in the rough on the tenth, 120 yards. I hit nine-iron and it just came out perfect. Shows that you need those breaks to go your way sometimes to win, and it went my way this week.
"Sometimes I felt confident, and I wasn't too nervous out there. I wasn't really nervous -- maybe that's because the conditions were so brutal. It was just a case of trying to hit it forward. But I felt like my emotions were pretty good and my temperament was pretty solid all week, really.
"I felt like the crowd was there with me. When I holed putts, there were cheers. You know, it was a real privilege. For all my family to be here, I'm really happy."
Alexander Björk
"That was a good fight all the way to the end. It was so tough today, with the wind and the rain and the cold, and I played really well, especially the first nine holes. I was playing really good. The second nine was a lot of holes into the wind and it was just a battle. I did everything I could.
"I'm really proud of myself, the way I fought today, never gave up and just kept going. It's tough in these conditions and sometimes it can get too much and you can get the grumpy and you don't really like it.
"But I was trying to stay positive and just see opportunities and just trying to catch him, and I was close in the end but not close enough."
Justin Rose
“It’s been an honour hosting. That’s the only way to wrap it up. It’s kept me motivated this week. I’ve definitely dug in a little harder, particularly on Friday when I didn’t want to miss the cut in an event I’m hosting. So the role has kept me working hard, on the course as well as off it, trying to be a good host.
“It’s been fun. I’ve tried to do the main things and not sweat the details. My manager and the European Tour have done a great job in helping to support me. It’s a huge honour to have your mug shot splashed all over the place.

“It’s a big European Tour event and I love the fact the four of us have hosted it over the past four years and it has been a fun and unique thing to do. You see the crowds turning out like this and it shows the thirst there is for golf in the UK.”
Final results:
par 288 (4x72)

279 E Pepperell (Eng) 67 69 71 72
281 A Björk (Swe) 69 73 68 71
283 J Smith (Eng) 71 69 70 73, L Herbert (Australia) 72 75 67 69
284 S Horsfield (Eng) 71 70 74 69, T Lewis (Eng) 70 73 71 70, J Suri (USA) 70 71 69 74
285 J Rose (Eng) 74 72 69 70,
286 G Green (Mas) 69 78 68 71, A Sullivan (Eng) 69 72 73 72, L Bjerregaard (Den) 74 67 72 73, T Fleetwood (Eng) 67 77 70 72, H Li (China) 73 74 69 70, R Gouveia (Portugal) 76 70 72 68, O Farr (Wales) 73 73 71 69
287 M Wallace (Eng) 67 72 73 75, M Fitzpatrick (Eng) 69 73 71 74, E Molinari (Ita) 74 72 71 70, C Sordet (Fra) 69 77 70 71, A Pavan (Ita) 73 72 67 75, S Brown (Eng) 69 73 72 73,
288 J Guerrier (Fra) 70 70 70 78, M Manassero (Ita) 72 72 76 68, G Havret (Fra) 75 70 70 73, P Harrington (Ire) 73 74 71 70, R Sterne (SAf) 71 74 70 73, M Southgate (Eng) 69 76 76 67, M Schwab (Austria) 70 74 72 72,
289 J Wang (SKor) 69 75 70 75, J Lagergren (Swe) 68 78 71 72, W Ormsby (Australia) 72 71 71 75, R Rock (Eng) 72 74 73 70, D Fichardt (SAf) 73 73 72 71,
290 S Lowry (Ire) 75 71 72 72, R Karlsson (Swe) 69 73 73 75, D Lipsky (USA) 68 78 73 71, A Saddier (Fra) 73 73 67 77, M Warren (Sco) 74 73 71 72, G Bourdy (Fra) 74 73 75 68, T Immelman (SAf) 69 73 71 77, R Fisher (Eng) 69 72 74 75,
291 A Levy (Fra) 67 78 72 74, P Dunne (Ire) 70 73 74 74, S Kjeldsen (Den) 73 74 74 70, G Fernandez-Castaño (Spn) 72 72 71 76, A Connelly (Canada) 73 73 69 76, M Siem (Ger) 72 73 71 75,
292 C Hanson (Eng) 75 69 73 75, L Slattery (Eng) 70 74 72 76, M Kinhult (Swe) 71 74 71 76, M Fraser (Australia) 72 74 76 70, D Burmester (SAf) 74 72 74 72, M Korhonen (Finland) 70 74 76 72, M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 68 79 73 72, A Johnston (Eng) 72 72 73 75,
293 R Wattel (Fra) 73 73 74 73, A Rai (Eng) 73 74 72 74, P Larrazábal (Spn) 70 77 74 72, F Molinari (Ita) 73 73 75 72, P Waring (Eng) 70 77 73 73, R Ramsay (Sco) 74 72 72 75, H Porteous (RSA) 77 70 76 70,
294 S Jamieson (Sco) 73 72 72 77, D Drysdale (Sco) 69 73 80 72, A Dodt (Australia) 73 73 76 72, C Pigem (Spn) 71 72 76 75
295 Z Lombard (SAf) 72 72 75 76
296 B Rumford (Australia) 71 75 76 74, T Aiken (SAf) 75 72 74 75,
297 S Gallacher (Sco) 72 73 77 75,
299 J Morrison (Eng) 72 71 77 79,
301 R McEvoy (Eng) 68 77 78 78,