DUBAI // Two years to the day after securing his European Tour card via a nervy last day at qualifying school, Matthew Fitzpatrick drained a four-foot putt to earn himself a €1.23 million (Dh4.78m) cheque for winning the DP World Tour Championship.
Having already won on tour last season, as well as accruing enough points to qualify for the Ryder Cup this term, the 22-year-old Englishman is already a wealthy young man.
The windfall at Jumeirah Golf Estates might have a marked effect on his standing, though. He suggested after his one-stroke win over Tyrrell Hatton that it might finally edge him slightly closer to moving out from living with his mum and dad.
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He said his parents, who were on hand to celebrate with him beside the 18th green at Earth Course, had been getting property advice from Rory McIlroy this week.
“This week’s helped, and probably increased the time scale of moving out,” said Fitzpatrick, who finished his final round on 17-under.
“I’m not in any rush. I just want to sort of make sure I find the right place first and I’m actually looking at buying in America first, rather than home.
“My mum certainly doesn’t [want him to leave home]. My dad maybe, but my mum certainly doesn’t.”
The prize-giving ceremony on the 18th green at the end of the Tour Championship had a distinctly local feel - bizarrely, given the main recipients were an Englishman and a Swede.
Henrik Stenson, who clinched the order of merit title, was for many years a resident of the Meadows, Dubai, while Fitzpatrick has been sponsored since he first turned professional by Golf in Dubai.
“I turned pro, with no status or anything, and then they backed me from the start,” he said. “I’ve got invites straight into the Dubai Desert Classic every time. Hopefully I’ve been a decent ambassador.”
Stenson reckons Fitzpatrick can look forward to a long and successful career in the game.
“It’s good to see new players showing their talent and coming up, and the Tour is getting stronger,” Stenson said.
“You have to play better and better to win, so all credit to Matthew for winning here this week. He won [the British Masters] last year, so the last 15 months or so has been phenomenal for him.
“He’s got big potential. He’s not playing the power game, but he’s hitting a lot of fairways, a lot of greens and putting well, and got a solid short game. He is going to be around for a while, that’s for sure.”
FINAL SCORES
-17 Matthew Fitzpatrick (Britain) 69 69 66 67
-16 Tyrrell Hatton (Britain) 71 66 67 68
-14 Charl Schwartzel (South Africa) 70 67 70 67
-13 Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium) 67 71 66 71
Victor Dubuisson (France) 70 69 64 72
Francesco Molinari (Italy) 68 67 70 70
Soren Kjeldsen (Denmark) 70 69 68 68
Bernd Wiesberger (Austria) 70 67 70 68
-12 Rory McIlroy (Britain) 75 68 68 65
Henrik Stenson (Sweden) 72 69 70 65
Jorge Campillo (Spain) 72 71 68 65
Tommy Fleetwood (Britain) 70 71 67 68
-11 An Byeong Hun (Korea) 70 69 70 68
David Horsey (Britain) 72 71 67 67
Lee Westwood (Britain) 66 70 69 72
Joost Luiten (Netherlands) 68 69 73 67
-10 Wang Jeunghun (Korea) 75 72 65 66
Ross Fisher (Britain) 72 71 67 68
-9 Martin Kaymer (Germany) 71 74 67 67
Sergio Garcia (Spain) 68 67 74 70
Shane Lowry (Ireland) 70 71 69 69
Thorbjorn Olesen (Denmark) 71 70 68 70
-8 Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Spain) 71 71 63 75
Alexander Noren (Sweden) 71 69 69 71
Rikard Karlberg (Sweden) 72 70 67 71
Julien Quesne (France) 67 76 68 69
-7 Felipe Aguilar (Chile) 74 73 67 67
Alexander Levy (France) 69 73 71 68
Branden Grace (South Africa) 72 74 65 70
-6 Li Haotong (China) 74 70 69 69
Richard Sterne (South Africa) 70 70 71 71
Ignacio Elvira (Spain) 70 69 68 75
Renato Paratore (Italy) 70 73 70 69
George Coetzee (South Africa) 72 70 71 69
-5 David Lipsky (US) 72 71 72 68
Jaco Van Zyl (South Africa) 69 71 73 70
Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Thailand) 69 74 73 67
Gregory Bourdy (France) 72 73 68 70
Chris Wood (Britain) 75 72 71 65
-4 Thomas Pieters (Belgium) 72 72 70 70
Andy Sullivan (Britain) 76 66 70 72
Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand) 74 70 70 70
Scott Hend (Australia) 72 73 69 70
Joakim Lagergren (Sweden) 74 69 72 69
Alejandro Canizares (Spain) 73 72 70 69
-3 Ricardo Gouveia (Portugal) 72 69 71 73
Padraig Harrington (Ireland) 72 71 71 71
Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa) 69 74 74 68
-2 Raphael Jacquelin (France) 72 71 72 71
-1 Mikko Ilonen (Finland) 70 73 73 71
Danny Willett (Britain) 71 70 76 70
0 Pablo Larrazabal (Spain) 71 71 71 75
Marcus Fraser (Australia) 69 74 78 67
1 Matthew Southgate (Britain) 72 74 70 73
Richard Bland (Britain) 71 76 70 72
2 Lee Soomin (Korea) 71 73 76 70
4 Bradley Dredge (Britain) 72 75 72 73
Romain Wattel (France) 82 68 70 72
5 Brandon Stone (South Africa) 74 73 74 72
6 Andrew Johnston (Britain) 78 70 78 68
[ pradley@thenational.ae ]
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