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Donaldson wins Czech Masters to clinch Ryder Cup spot

Jamie Donaldson will play in his first Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in September © Getty Images

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Wales' Jamie Donaldson held off the nerves to card a 4-under-par final round of 68 and clinch victory at the Czech Masters, earning a debut Ryder Cup place in the process.

Donaldson only needed a top-seven finish at the Albatross Golf Resort in Prague but rallied to claim his third European title and confirm his spot on Paul McGinley's European team for Gleneagles next month.

"This is big - it's been an amazing week," Donaldson told the European Tour's official website. "I didn't get here until late; I needed to play well either this week or next week, or both, to guarantee my place in the Ryder Cup team so there was a lot on the line and this week I played really well, so that's great.

"Winning is everything: wins shoot you up world rankings, Race To Dubai, all sorts. Its massive - those three last holes coming in there were really tough with the wind blowing, so I'm just really happy to seal it.

"It's so difficult to get into the team, the lads are playing so well. You know that you have to play well to secure your place and it did come down to the wire. That's how it is to get into the team.

"I played as well as I can play for 18 months, and then a couple of slow events and you rocket down the list, so it's great to come here and play so well and do enough to get into the team."

Bradley Dredge, who led after round three, had to settle for the runner-up spot for the second consecutive week having done the same in Denmark; his even-par 72 was not enough to prevent Donaldson taking over.

South Africa's Merrick Bremner finished joint third with Denmark's Soren Kjeldsen at 11-under, while English dup Tommy Fleetwood and Eddie Pepperell were three shots back at 8-under-par after their four rounds.

Czech Masters final leaderboard

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