Matt Fitzpatrick Secures Biggest Victory of Career in Dubai

Post by Sports Writer Derek Clements

THE European Tour season reached a stunning climax when 22-year-old Matthew Fitzpatrick birdied the final hole to win the DP World Championship in Dubai. It is his third victory in only his second full season and confirms his status as a major player on the world stage.

He becomes the youngest Englishman to win three European Tour titles, beating Sir Nick Faldo’s previous record from 1980 by a margin of 220 days. The win also secured Fitzpatrick the biggest pay day of his career – a cheque for €1,217,174. And he moved into sixth place on the final 2016 Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex, netting him a further €319,509 as part of the top 10 Bonus Pool.

But the day's big winner was Henrik Stenson, who scored a final round of 64 to seal first place in the Race to Dubai. It means he finishes the year as the European number one, collecting a handy €1.5m from the Bonus Pool. It is the second time that the Swede has claimed the tour's ultimate prize and it concludes a memorable year in which he became the first golfer from Sweden to win a major after beating Phil Mickelson to become Open champion in July.

But on this Sunday the day and the tournament was all about Fitzpatrick, who proved yet again that you do not need to propel the golf ball 300-plus yards from the tee in order to compete against the best in the world on the toughest golf courses on the planet. And what incredible nerve the man from Sheffield demonstrated. 

He took advantage of Tyrrell Hatton’s bogey on the very last hole with a closing birdie to swap positions with his compatriot at the top of the leaderboard, with his final round 67 sealing a one stroke victory.

Fitzpatrick only won his first European Tour title 13 months ago at the British Masters, but since then he has also won the Nordea Masters and played in his first Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National.

Hatton’s only bogey of the day saw him conclude with a round of 68, but the Alfred Dunhill Links champion’s second place finish saw him replace Rory McIlroy in fourth position on the Race to Dubai. As for McIlroy, he was left to rue a miserable opening round of 75 that effectively ended his chances of winning either the tournament or the Race to Dubai - he finished with a superb round of 65, as did Stenson, and the pair finished  in a four-way share of ninth position on 12 under par.

Fitzpatrick was delighted with his finish. “I love playing golf obviously but it's been a long year for me, and I've got to admit, this is just icing on the cake. As a year goes, it's been a great one," he said. “I had a rough idea what happened to Tyrrell on the last. I saw that he had missed a putt and there were a few groans in the crowd. But it wasn't until I saw the scores that I knew what I needed for the win. Tyrrell, he's a great lad, he was just coming down and I saw him as I was walking into the scorer's and he said congratulations. For someone to do that after he's been in contention is very special. He's a credit to the tour.

“This win means the world. To win one of these Final Series events is really special, and this one in particular, being the last tournament of the year is special. Words can't describe it. It's not going to sink in for a while. But you know, it's been a special year and then to end it like this with a win is amazing.”

Unsurprisingly, Hatton was rather more downbeat, but having finally got his first tournament victory under his belt he has proved that the future of English golf is in very safe hands. "Of course, it is a bitter pill to swallow, but it's been a great week and for me it's been the best year of my life. So I can't get too downbeat, these things happen. You know, it is what it is and I'm happy with how the week went. I'm sure hopefully in the future, I'll take my next chance.

“It was nice to be up there. My putter helped me out a lot this week. I felt I played better tee-to-green the other previous weeks. Just this week I putted well and that's what it boils down to. It was nice to be up there again and I'm looking forward to some time off now before the start of the new season.”

McIlroy, who missed a host of short birdie putts during his third round of 68 was reflect to reflect on what might have been. “I really got it going around the end of the front nine there and thought there could have been something really special on," he said. "Looking at the board, I was six-under through nine, thinking I was maybe three behind at that point, but it wasn't quite meant to be. I just didn't keep that momentum going into the back nine, but it is still a good 65 to finish. I played nicely and I’m looking forward to a few weeks off.

"If I had shot something around level par, or one under,on the first day then I would have been right in the tournament. But these things happen, and I played well for the remaining three days and at least I redeemed myself a little bit.”