BIRMINGHAM, England — Joe Dean, a former grocery delivery driver ranked No. 292, captured his first DP World Tour ***** le by shooting 9-under 63 to win the British Masters with his wife on the bag on Sunday.
The 32-year-old Englishman started the final round seven strokes off the lead at The Belfry but made nine birdies — including four on his last six holes — to finish the week on 14-under par and move into the lead with the late starters still having holes to play.
No one could catch him, with four players — Nacho Elvira (69), third-round leader Daniel Hillier (73), Niklas Norgaard (71) and Jakob Skov Olesen (71) — tying for second place, three shots back.
This was the first tournament in Team Europe's qualifying process for next year's Ryder Cup, so that's suddenly an unlikely target for Dean — 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't have a card.
"I enjoyed it for most of the time," Dean said of his old part-time job. "Obviously 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."
#still
The 32-year-old Englishman started the final round seven strokes off the lead at The Belfry but made nine birdies — including four on his last six holes — to finish the week on 14-under par and move into the lead with the late starters still having holes to play.
No one could catch him, with four players — Nacho Elvira (69), third-round leader Daniel Hillier (73), Niklas Norgaard (71) and Jakob Skov Olesen (71) — tying for second place, three shots back.
This was the first tournament in Team Europe's qualifying process for next year's Ryder Cup, so that's suddenly an unlikely target for Dean — 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't have a card.
"I enjoyed it for most of the time," Dean said of his old part-time job. "Obviously 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."
#still
2 months ago
