Matthew Fitzpatrick Continues English Success In 2016

Post by Sports Writer Derek Clements

MATTHEW FITZPATRICK confirmed his status as the most exciting prospect on the European Tour with a three-shot victory in the Nordea Masters at Bro Hoff Slot Golf Club, near Stockholm.

This is one of the trickiest courses on the European Tour, with water hazards, thick rough and deep, deep bunkers lying in wait at every turn. But the 21-year-old from Sheffield finished the week on 16 under par after a final round of 71. Quite remarkably, he dropped just four shots all week, and one of those was on the final hole, when he knew that victory was in the bag.

Fitzpatrick began the day with a five-shot lead and was partnered with Alex Noren, the defending champion from Sweden. Noren had the support of a huge home crowd but he had a day to forget, taking 78 shots to negotiate the final round. He didn't manage a single birdie and finished on four under, 12 shots behind Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick won the British Masters last year in his rookie season and finished in a tie for seventh place at The Masters in April. He only entered the Nordea Masters at the last minute because he wasn't happy with his form at the BMW PGA Championship and wanted some competitive practice before crossing the Atlantic to play in the US Open at Oakmont.

He putted quite beautifully throughout the final round. The tournament victory was effectively sealed when he birdied the second and then added another at the ninth to reach the turn in 34 strokes. A shot went at the 10th but he birdied the 12th and was able to coast home.

"I am delighted to win," he said. ""It was a great final round for me. Hitting fairways and greens was key for me, and I did that. I knew that Nicolas Colsaerts made a move but I was completely in the zone and when I hit the 17th green I knew that the tournament was mine. I feel that I am a million miles ahead of my schedule as to where I wanted to be at this stage in my career.

"I would love to make the Ryder Cup team but I just need to keep plugging away and see where I am come September."

Lasse Jesen,of Denmark, had two eagles in a final round of 68 that secured second place and guaranteed him a place in the field at The Open Championship at Royal Troon next month. The Dane holed his second shot at the par-four sixth and also eagled the par-five 13th.

Nicolas Colsaerts, of Belgium,  continued his fine run of form, with a birdie at the sixth and an eagle at the ninth taking him to the turn in 33. Another birdie came at the 10th. His challenge ended on the par-three 17th, which features an island green. Colsaerts hit what he thought was a great shot but he applied too much backspin and the ball finished in the water, costing him a double-bogey five. He birdied the 18th for a round of 70 but his 12 under par total of 276 was shot too many to catch Jensen.

Henrik Stenson, who began the week as favourite to win on home soil, finally clicked into top gear with a final round of 66 to finish joint third with fellow Swede Bjorn Hellgren on 10 under.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1TeT0zTV5Q

Memorial Tournament

William McGirt's life changed for ever when he won the Memorial at Muirfield Village on a final day when some of the biggest names in the game stumbled and fell over when the chips were down. Not that McGirt cared one iota about that as he headed for home with a three-year exemption and a place in the field for the US Open after he beat Jon Curran at the second hole of a sudden death playoff.

McGirt finished with a 71 for a 15-under-par total of 273. It was good enough to tie with Curran, who closed out with a 70. On a day when players were dropping shots like confetti, McGirt compiled 17 pars and a solitary birdie.

"It feels awesome to get the job done," he said. "To win my first tournament at Jack Nicklaus' course with him looking on is really, really special. I struggled with my game all day but I managed to keep it all together."

Curran was delighted with his finish. "I struggled with my driver all week, so I am really proud of myself that I managed to get so close to winning. All credit to William, who played great," he said.

At the start of the day you would have got long odds against those scores being good enough, but this tournament does have a habit of producing surprise winners - David Lingmerth, of Sweden, took the title 12 months ago, also in a playoff, when he defeated Justin Rose.

McGirt is 36 years old and has made a lot of money on the PGA Tour without winning but in recent weeks he has shown some good form. He is a firm favourite with his fellow players and will now hope to prove this is not a one-off.

Curran, 29, and McGirt had to return to the 18th tee and when McGirt flared his drive into thick rough and then put his second shot into a greenside bunker, it looked like the title was Curran's. But McGirt produced a brilliant bunker shot to save par, so back to the 18th they went.

This time McGirt found the middle of the fairway, while Curran hit his drive into a fairway bunker, but both players missed the green with their second shots. Curran's bunker shot cleared the green and ended up on a cart path and he received a free drop but he hit a poor third shot. McGirt chipped to six feet and when Curran failed to hole his par putt McGirt was left with a putt to win. And it didn't touch the sides.

For much of the day it had looked like Matt Kuchar's long wait for a victory was finally going to come to an end but a bogey at the 12th, double-bogey at the 13th and another dropped shot at the 15th contributed to a 73, leaving him two behind. Dustin Johnson and Gary Woodland also flirted with victory but Woodland's challenge ended with dropped shots at the 9th, 10th and 11th, while Johnson mixed four bogeys with two birdies on the back nine and still only missed out by a shot. He finished on 14 under par, in third place on his own.

Rory McIlroy finished the week on a high. While everybody else was struggling, he closed out with a 68 to tie Kuchar on 13 under.

Highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb_6w8BoBC4

Wales Senior Open

China’s Lianwei Zhang shot an eight-under-par 62 in the final round of the SSE Enterprise Wales Senior Open to secure his nation’s first title on the European Senior Tour.

Thirteen years after becoming the first Chinese winner on the European Tour, Zhang repeated the feat on the Senior Tour, holding off the challenge of Paul Broadhurst and David Gilford at Celtic Manor. 

Zhang, who trailed overnight leader Chris Williams by three shots, began his round with  four consecutive birdies and an eagle on the opening five holes and then added another two birdies to reach the turn in just 29 shots.

He then posted six pars in a row on the back nine before a birdie the 16th, and despite his only bogey of the day on the final hole, his 12 under par total for the tournament gave him a three shot victory over Broadhurst, who carded a closing round of 66 to finish runner up, with Gilford, a further shot back in third place.

Broadhurst followed Saturday’s 65 with a 66, securing his fourth top-10 finish in six events.