England’s Matt Fitzpatrick birdied the final hole at Jumeirah Golf Estates to win the European Tour’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship by a single shot from countryman Tyrrell Hatton.
Matt Fitzpatrick began the final round of the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai one shot off the lead held by Victor Dubuisson of France. But the Englishman birdied the 2nd and 3rd holes of the final round to move to the top of the board.
Tyrrell Hatton applied the pressure with birdies on the 5th and 6th holes to join the youngster from Sheffield in a share for the lead. The pair traded birdies at the start of the back nine as a great battle for the title began to unfold.
Hatton moved in front with a birdie on the 14th and he remained one ahead with one hole to play. But a poor drive on the home hole by Hatton found the water and he stumbled to a closing bogey. That saw him in the clubhouse with a finishing total of 16-under-par.
Fitzpatrick needed to par the last to tie and a birdie to win the tournament. He played his second into a greenside bunker and blasted out to within four-feet of the cup. He then rolled in the birdie putt to take the title.
“Four footers aren’t normally what you want for the win but to finish it off like that makes it a lot sweeter,” he said. “This puts the icing on the cake of a great year.”
Hatton finished alone in second with Charl Schwartzel in third.
3 Talking points from the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai
1 – The victory pushed Matt Fitzpatrick to sixth place on the final Race to Dubai standings and confirmed his share of the season-ending bonus pool – he picked up $350,000. This was his third European Tour victory and, at just 22 years and 80 days, he becomes the youngest Englishman to win three titles on the circuit. With the win he should move into the top-30 on the Official World Golf Ranking.
Matt Fitzpatrick on life on Tour:
2 – Henrik Stenson did enough to be crowned Race to Dubai champion. The Swede closed with an excellent 65 to end the week in a tie for 9th place. The Open champion secured the Order of Merit title for a second time, having previously won it in 2013.
“I’m very pleased to get my name on this trophy once again,” said Stenson. “It’s been a great year, the best year of my career.”
Rory McIlroy also closed with a 65 to share 9th place in Dubai.
3 – Although disappointed with his finish, Tyrrell Hatton was able to take the positives from another good week and a great season. By finishing runner-up, he overtook Rory McIlroy on the final Race to Dubai standings and ended fourth on the Order of Merit.
“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, these things happen.”
DP World Tour Championship, Dubai
Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Nov 17-20
Purse €7,400,000, par 72
1 Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng) 69 69 66 67 271 €1,217,174
2 Tyrrell Hatton (Eng) 71 66 67 68 272 €811,443
3 Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 70 67 70 67 274 €457,172
T4 Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel) 67 71 66 71 275 €270,670
T4 Victor Dubuisson (Fra) 70 69 64 72 275 €270,670
T4 Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 70 69 68 68 275 €270,670
T4 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 68 67 70 70 275 €270,670
T4 Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 70 67 70 68 275 €270,670
T9 Jorge Campillo (Esp) 72 71 68 65 276 €147,839
T9 Tommy Fleetwood (Eng) 70 71 67 68 276 €147,839
T9 Rory McIlroy (NIR) 75 68 68 65 276 €147,839
T9 Henrik Stenson (Swe) 72 69 70 65 276 €147,839
Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage
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