England’s Fitzpatrick holds nerve to claim $ 1.33 m Dubai win

Reuters: England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick sank a knee-knocking birdie putt from four feet on the final hole to seal the DP World Tour Championship on Sunday in a dramatic conclusion.

The $ 1.33 m first prize for the season-ending tournament in Dubai meant the 22-year-old from Sheffield, who carded a five-under-par 67 to finish the tournament 17-under, roughly doubled the amount he had won combined from his other 25 events this year.

“It means the world. To win one of these Final Series events is really special, and this one in particular, obviously the last tournament of the year,” Fitzpatrick told reporters.

Matthew Fitzpatrick of England holds the champions trophy after 

winning DP World Tour championship - REUTERS

“Four-footers aren’t normally what you want for the win but to finish it off like that makes it a lot sweeter.”

He edged out compatriot Tyrrell Hatton, who led the field down the stretch until he found water with his 18th tee shot, with the resultant bogey ultimately costing him the tournament by one shot.

“It’s a fairly difficult tee shot but I just leaked it a little bit right and paid the price for that,” Hatton told reporters.

“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.”

It had seemed set up for Hatton after a remarkable escape on the 17th. Attempting to play off the back lip on a greenside bunker, he duffed the shot into the front of the same sand-trap, only to then hole his second exit attempt to rescue a par.

Instead, it was left to Fitzpatrick to craft his own piece of sand escapology in the desert emirate, chipping his third shot on 18 from a bunker to within a few feet and holding his nerve to seal only his third ever win on the European Tour - and, by far, the most lucrative.