Sheffield’s Joe Dean shot a round of 63 at the Belfry to finally shed the tag of former Morrisons delivery driver and replace it with British Masters champion.

The 32-year-old has never shied away from the fact that two and half years ago he worked for his local supermarket trying to make ends meet as he funded his golfing career.

He even continued picking up the odd shift after qualifying for the DP World Tour back in November 2023.

But now, after a number of near misses, Dean – who plays out of College Pines in Worksop - can call himself a winner at that level after a sensational round saw him storm through the field to win the Husqvarna British Masters by three shots.

Joe Dean celebrates with the trophy after day four of the Husqvarna British Masters at The Belfry Hotel & Resort, Sutton Coldfield. (Picture: PA)

placeholder image — Joe Dean celebrates with the trophy after day four of the Husqvarna British Masters at The Belfry Hotel & Resort, Sutton Coldfield. (Picture: PA)

“Absolutely worth the wait,” said a beaming Dean who joins the likes Sir Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros and Matt Fitzpatrick in winning the event.

“All those painful hours, all the work I’ve put in, it’s finally led to something, so I’m really happy.

“Today was one of the rare days when everything just felt right and the putts were dropping. We’d sort of had glimpses of that over the past few months, but it faded by the back nine or after a few holes.

“So to finally get through the entire round and feel good about it is really nice.”

Winner Joe Dean of England (right) receives the trophy from Sir Nick Faldo after day four of the Husqvarna British Masters at The Belfry Hotel & Resort (Picture: PA)

An example of how grounded Dean has remained came in the answer he gave to the question about his former job delivering shopping.

“I enjoyed it most of the time,” he said. “It was a completely different life, a completely different lifestyle.

“I still see the vans going up and down the road every now and then, so I still keep in touch.”

The win caps a solid summer in which he finished third at the KLM Open, ninth at the BMW International and won the last chance qualifier to get into the Open at Birkdale.

The following week he married long-time girlfriend Emily who has caddied for him most of the year, and did so again at the Belfry.

“I don’t know where the winner’s cheque is going, she knows everything,” said Dean, who joins fellow Yorkshiremen Dan Bradbury and Alex Fitzpatrick as winners on the tour this season. “I can’t thank her enough. I hope I made her proud.

“I’m lost for words, I think we’re both really happy and a bit like rabbits in the headlights.”