DUBAI: Matthew Fitzpatrick birdied the last hole to win the $8 million DP World Tour Championship on Sunday as Henrik Stenson won the Race to Dubai for a second time.
England’s Fitzpatrick was completing a remarkable season in which he represented Europe in the Ryder Cup within two years of turning professional, and backed it up by winning the season-ending championship.
The 22-year-old closed with a 67 for a 17-under par total at the Earth course of Jumeirah Golf Estates.
That was one better than compatriot Tyrrell Hatton who made a bogey on the last hole after hitting his tee shot into the water.
Stenson won the Race to Dubai, the Swede shooting a seven-under par 65 on the final day to finish on a 12-under par total.
He finished tied with Rory McIlroy, who needed to win the tournament to deny Stenson, but two of his closest rivals — Masters champion Danny Willett of England and four-time European Tour winner this year Alex Noren of Sweden — ranked second and third in the Race to Dubai at the start of the week, finished behind him.
Willett was tied 50 at one-under par, while Noren could do no better than tied 23rd at eight-under par.
Stenson finished on 4,148,402 points, with Willett second on 3,734,527. Noren was third, but Hatton pushed McIlroy to fifth place with his runner-up finish.
A delighted Stenson said: “It’s been the best year of my career when I sum it up, and this certainly didn’t make it any worse. It’s some very nice names on this trophy, so I’m delighted and proud to get my name on it again.
“It’s hard enough to do one time, but to do two is something I’m very pleased with, and of course it shows how well I played over the course of the year.
“I had the BMW International Open win, and the win at The Open, but then it was another I think ten really good tournaments throughout the year that when we sum it all up, that’s why we’re sitting here with this right next to me.”
Fitzpatrick was adding this tournament to his win in the Nordea Masters.
He was solid throughout the round except for a pulled tee shot on the 15th hole that somehow came back in play after hitting a tree.
Fitzpatrick had already played a provisional ball there, but managed to make a crucial par with the original ball.
Up ahead, Hatton led by one but looked set to make a bogey on the par-3 17th, where his ball got plugged in the bunker slope on the back wall.
He hacked it into the bunker, and then holed out his third shot to stay one ahead.
But Hatton’s luck ran out on the 18th, when he smashed his tee shot into the stream that runs in the middle of the fairway. From there, he could only make a bogey and then watched Fitzpatrick edge ahead with a birdie from the fairway bunker.
After making his four-feet putt for the decisive birdie, Fitzpatrick said: “It’s the most I’ve shaked over a putt in, for ever. I surprised myself. I’m normally quite sort of okay, but yeah, it was a tough one.
“It’s a great way to end the season. This is my best result of my career. There isn’t anything better than that, you know, so yeah, it’s been a very, very good week.”
South African Charl Schwartzel was third at 14-under par 274.
Fitzpatrick takes finale and Stenson the Race to Dubai
Fitzpatrick takes finale and Stenson the Race to Dubai
Salama smashes course record with sensational 60 at Madinaty
- Spaniard cards 10-under-par round with 9 birdies and a chip-in eagle to lead by four in Egypt
CAIRO: Spain’s Juan Salama fired a sensational 10-under-par course record of 60 to take a four-shot lead after the opening round of the Egypt Golf Series.
Salama’s stunning round at Madinaty Golf Club bettered the previous record of 63 and included nine birdies and a chip-in eagle on the par-five ninth — his final hole of the day after the field started on the 10th.
The Spaniard, who finished runner-up to Jack Davidson in last week’s play-off at Address Marassi, dropped his only shot of the day on the eighth hole, meaning a par there would have given him the magical 59.
“It was definitely an early start today — I was up at 3:45 a.m. stretching, breakfast at 4:30, and we arrived at the course around 5:30, so I was warming up in the dark, which was pretty crazy,” said Salama.
“But it actually went really well. I love being first out because the greens are perfect with no footprints and the ball rolls beautifully. The conditions here at Madinaty Golf Club have been fantastic all week.
“I made nine birdies with just one dropped shot, and on the last hole I really fancied the chip-in for eagle. My personal best round is nine under, so I went for it and it paid off. I feel like my game has been in a really good place the last couple of weeks. I’ve been working hard, my family has been a huge support, and my wife keeps me very disciplined, so it’s nice to see that work paying off.”
Last week’s winner Jack Davidson is the closest pursuer after a six-under 64 that included seven birdies and just one dropped shot at the par-five 13th — his fourth hole of the day.
“It was a similar situation to last week, chasing Juan Salama again, but I’m really happy with six under,” said Davidson. “The wind made it tough at times, but I managed to hole a few nice putts and keep the momentum going after last week’s play-off win.
“The up-and-down on eight was a big moment. It’s one of the hardest holes on the course, so saving par there and going on to make birdie at the last was huge. With an early tee time tomorrow, hopefully we get slightly better conditions and fresher greens.”
Four players currently share third place at five under par: Argentina’s Gaston Bertinotti, Wales’ Owen Edwards, Germany’s Tim Tillmanns and Italy’s Ludovico Addabbo, who sits second in the MENA Golf Tour Rankings.
“It was a great round, to be honest. I played really solid,” said Bertinotti. “The course was playing pretty tough — really firm and fast, especially on the downhill shots — and the wind picked up after the fourth hole, which made things even more challenging.
“The wind makes the course a lot more challenging. There are holes where you can be hitting three clubs less than normal from the rough because the ball just doesn’t stop downwind. Both nines are tough in different ways. On the front you hit more drivers, and on the back there are a lot of demanding iron shots, especially with the par threes and the water in play.”
Rankings leader Chris Wood is absent this week as he competes in the Qatar Masters on the DP World Tour, and with Addabbo well placed heading into round two, there is an opportunity to close the gap at the top of the standings.
The Egyptian contingent found the windy conditions challenging but took plenty of positives from the experience of competing against the international field.
“Conditions are pretty tough with the wind,” said Ahmed Morgan, who carded an 81. “When I played this course on the Asian Tour without wind it was much easier, but with these conditions there are some really demanding holes. The greens are very fast, so it’s difficult to hold them, which makes knocking it close to the pin the key this week.”
Amateur Abdelrahman El-Defrawy echoed those sentiments after his opening 78.
“It was pretty tough out there with the wind, but the course itself is in great condition,” he said.
“The wind was probably the biggest challenge, especially with judging yardages between clubs. But that’s all part of the experience — playing under this kind of pressure is something I’ll take a lot from going forward.”
