European Tour rookie Matt Fitzpatrick, the youngest player in the field, on Sunday showed the old stagers a thing or two by easing to a two-stroke triumph at the US$4.55 million British Masters.
The 21-year-old Englishman was locked in an enthralling race for the title with Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark until pressing the turbo-charge button on the back nine and accelerating away from the field to finish with a 68 and a 15-under total of 269.
Fitzpatrick, who had held or shared the lead all week, snared successive birdies at the 11th and 12th before rolling home a 20-foot birdie effort at the 15th and turning to the crowd to celebrate with a double fist-pump.
The former world amateur No. 1 effectively sealed his maiden tour win with a laser-guided tee shot to three feet at the short 17th and could even afford the luxury of a dropped shot at the last on a sunny, but cold, autumnal day at Woburn.
Kjeldsen looked as if he would make Fitzpatrick fight all the way to the 18th, but his bid was undermined when he took three putts from 30 feet at the 15th and followed up by slicing his drive straight up against a tree at the next hole.
The Dane ended up with a 69 for 271 and had to settle for a share of second place with Ireland’s Shane Lowry (67) and Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zanotti (69).
“It is not going to sink in for a long time,” Fitzpatrick told the presentation ceremony after picking up a check for US$755,000, doubling his earnings for the season. “It was a long day and I did not really know what I had to do to win, but I just sort of ground it out. It was a great day.”
More than 57,000 fans attended the four days, with the tournament returning to the circuit following a seven-year absence.
“The fans have just been incredible to me and unbelievably supportive, and I cannot tell everyone how appreciative I am of that,” Fitzpatrick said after becoming the youngest winner of an event that has been on the tour since 1972.
“Walking down every hole it is: ‘Come on Matt’ and it is amazing to have that support,” added Fitzpatrick, who moved from 111th in the world rankings into the top 60.
Kjeldsen, who won the Irish Open in May, said he found it difficult to read the putting surfaces.
“I played great today, but I struggled on the greens,” the 40-year-old said. “I am extremely pleased how I played, but disappointed how I putted.”
“It has been an absolutely brilliant week, a great venue, great atmosphere, fantastic facilities. It is just a joy to come here and I cannot wait to come back,” he added.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two