Matt’s gloss finish enough to rule Earth

Joy Chakravarty 01:32 21/11/2016
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  • Prize guy: Fitzpatrick celebrates

    Exactly two years ago, Matthew Fitzpatrick was at the PGA Catalunya course in Spain, battling through the sixth and final round of the Qualifying School to secure his card on the European Tour.

    In one of the most meteoric rises witnessed in the game, the 22-year-old on Sunday proved what a special talent he is by capturing the biggest title on the Tour – the DP World Tour Championship.

    In between, he also qualified to represent Europe in the Ryder Cup and played in majors. It’s been a whirlwind for Fitzpatrick.

    At the Earth course on Sunday, the Englishman held off another young compatriot, 25-year-old Tyrrell Hatton, after the two were involved in a dramatic finish.

    Both Fitzpatrick and Hatton started the day one shot behind overnight leader Victor Dubuisson, and both looked solid as the others fell by the wayside.

    But things started to become more interesting as they headed towards the closing stretch.

    On the par-4 15th hole, Fitzpatrick pulled his tee shot into the trees and it looked so bad that he decided to play a provisional ball. But the original ball somehow came back in play after hitting a tree and Fitzpatrick managed to make a crucial par.

    On the par-3 17th, Hatton’s tee shot got plugged in the bunker slope on the back wall. A bogey would have been a good result from there. He hacked the ball into the bunker, and then holed out his third shot to stay one ahead.

    But on the 18th, his tee shot ran into the stream that bifurcates the fairway. From there, he could only make a bogey, while Fitzpatrick hit his second shot into the greenside bunker, from where he splashed out to four feet and made the birdie putt.

    Fitzpatrick closed with a 67 for a 17-under par total, while Hatton’s 68 was good only for runner-up place at 16-under par 272.

    “It’s a great way to end the season. This is my best result of my career. There isn’t anything better than that,” said Fitzpatrick, who broke the record of Nick Faldo in becoming the youngest Englishman to win three times on the European Tour.

    “It’s two years to the day I got my card at the qualifying school. When you think about it, it’s crazy. It’s all happened so fast.

    “There’s always times when I’ve just got to sit back and realise how far I’ve come. And before winning Nordea this year, I had won a Tour event, I had played in the Masters and got in top-50 in the world, and I was 21.

    “There are not too many people that do that. And obviously to get my third win at 22, yeah, it is a very fast rise. Obviously it’s not always going to be the case. You’ve just got to take the highs while you can and just keep working hard when it’s not going your way.”

    Hatton was obviously disappointed, but his consolation came in the form of finishing one place better than Rory McIlroy – fourth in the Race to Dubai.

    The Marlow-based youngster, winner of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship earlier this year, said: “Obviously, it’s 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, but 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.”

    South African Charl Schwartzel (67) was third two shots further behind at 274, while Dubuisson (72) was among those tied fourth at 275. That group included Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger (68), Italian Francesco Molinari (70), Dane Soren Kjeldsen (68) and Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts (71).

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