Bradley Dredge came close to his first European Tour win for 10 years before finally being edged out at the Made In Denmark tournament.

The Welsh golfer – who held a one-shot lead going into Sunday’s final round – eventually finished one shot behind winner Thomas Pieters of Belgium.

Dredge picked up a runners-up cheque for £177,000 but could not disguise his disappointment after a birdie at the last hole gave him a finishing round of 67 at 16 under par.

“It’s nice to come in second but I want to be holding the trophy at the end of the day,” said Dregde.

“Again, it was good chance to win, and 67 is a decent score out there but at the end of the day, it wasn’t overly difficult today.

“The pins were a bit tricky in places but obviously the double-bogey on the second didn’t really help my cause. I came back well but ultimately just fell one short in the end. Thomas did a tremendous job there.

“I’m in good position but I want to win some tournaments. But I really enjoy it here. I get on well with the guys and enjoy the golf course, crowds are great so I’ll always be back.”

Dredge, 43, admitted to some frustration at not getting over the line but he has four top ten finishes this season and feels his game is in a good place.

“I knew I was playing pretty good,” he said. “I struggled a bit with the driver on the weekend which was a bit annoying. I really got my eye in on the greens today which was nice.

“There’s loads of positives. I just have to practice the wedge game and hopefully I’ll be up there again.

It was a second runner-up finish at this event for Dredge after he lost out in 2014 to Marc Warren.

Pieters had started the week as the form player in the field after finishing fourth at the Olympics and second in his defence of the D+D Real Czech Masters last week, and he opened with a stunning 62 in the presence of European Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke on Thursday.

But equally as impressive was the way he closed the tournament at Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort, nearly acing the iconic par three 16th hole but settling for birdie, and then also picking up shots on the final two holes.

Pieters shrugged off a four-hour-and-15-minute weather delay midway through the final round, and a fruitless search for a lost ball on the last hole from playing partner Joakim Lagergren, to finish one shot clear of overnight leader Dredge.

Spaniard Adrian Otaegui and American David Lipsky both shot rounds of 67 to share third position on 15 under par.