The Welshman was tied with Spain’s Miguel Ángel Jiménez with one hole remaining but played a sublime approach shot to ten feet before rolling in the birdie putt for a two under par round of 68 to reach 13 under par and finish one stroke clear of the Spaniard.
The 55-year-old’s victory is his fourth since turning 50 and, despite not playing much competitive golf in the last 18 months, picked up the biggest win of his career to date in Berkshire.
Dodd showed a supreme display of frontrunning as he headed into the final round with a two-stroke lead after tying both the course record and the lowest round in Senior Open history with an eight under par 62 on Saturday. He started the final round by birdieing the first to settle any pre-round nerves, before bouncing back from a bogey at the eighth with a birdie at the ninth to make the turn at one under par, and it was the same story coming home.
The 55-year-old responded to his second bogey of the day at the par three 13th with a birdie on the par five 14th, before his closing birdie secured a memorable victory and also earned Dodd an exemption into The 150th Open at St Andrews in 2022.
The Senior Open Presented by Rolex will return in 2022, with Gleneagles providing the setting for the first time from July 21-24.
