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Joe Dean, the world number 2,930 and part-time delivery driver, has won a “life-changing” prize of £170,000 by finishing runner-up at the Kenya Open.
The Englishman, who scraped on to the DP World Tour through qualifying, finished joint second behind Darius van Driel in Nairobi.
Dean, who works a delivery driver for Morrisons supermarket, carded a closing four-under-par 67 to finish 12 under.
“It’s got to be [life changing]. It’s what people dream of,” said Dean.
The 29-year-old from Sheffield qualified for the DP World Tour in 2023 but did not compete until the Qatar Masters in February as he could not afford to fund the travel around the globe to participate.
He missed the cut in Doha and returned to his job delivering for Morrisons, which he was doing as recently as last week.
But, after finishing two shots behind eventual winner Van Driel after round one, Dean matched the Dutchman over the next three rounds to finish two back alongside Spaniard Nacho Elvira.
“After the last three or four years I never thought I’d get another chance,” said Dean.
“Still some gremlins to get past in order to get to my full potential, but like anyone you’ve got to get over them, squash them and keep going.
“I’ve never been one of the most over-confident people – coming into this week was a bit daunting. Second event, you don’t really feel like you belong and feel like you’re trying to prove something.
“Luckily, I managed to get over that quickly and figure out how to get around the golf course.”
