Matt Fitzpatrick claimed a sixth European Tour title with a one-shot victory at the DP World Tour Championship, with Lee Westwood finishing second to secure the Race to Dubai title ahead of Patrick Reed
Sunday 13 December 2020 15:05, UK
Lee Westwood pipped Patrick Reed to the Race to Dubai title after Matt Fitzpatrick won the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
Fitzpatrick birdied five of his opening seven holes on his way to a final-round 68 at Jumeriah Golf Estates to secure a sixth European Tour victory, with a closing par seeing him end the week on 15 under and hold on for a one-shot victory.
The 26-year-old was briefly projected to also end the season as European No 1, only for Westwood to claim solo second and jump ahead of Reed in the season-long standings to win the Harry Vardon Trophy for a third time.
Reed finished tied-third alongside Viktor Hovland to narrowly miss out on becoming the first American winner of the Race to Dubai title, with Laurie Canter a further shot back in a share of fifth alongside Sami Valimaki.
Fitzpatrick began the day in a share of the lead but quickly pulled clear of the field by birdieing each of his first four holes, with the 2016 champion then getting up and down from the sand to roll in another from 10 feet at the par-five seventh.
The Englishman holed a putt from the fringe to save par at the eighth and reached the turn three ahead, with Fitzpatrick missing an eight-foot birdie attempt at the 10th and then having to hole from a similar distance to avoid dropping a shot at the 12th.
Reed, playing in the group ahead, had recovered from an early bogey to birdie the fourth, sixth and chip-in from off the seventh green, with the world No 11 cancelling out a three-putt bogey at the 12th by making a six-footer at the par-three next.
The American produced more short-game magic to hole from off the green again at the 15th but bogeyed the next, which saw Reed lose his projected Race to Dubai lead when Canter made back-to-back birdies from the 14th to get to 14 under.
Reed fell further behind with a bogey at the par-three 17th, with two-time Order of Merit winner Westwood birdieing two of his three last holes to join Canter in tied-second and set the clubhouse target.
Canter saw a pitch roll back to his feet on his way to a double-bogey at the 17th, where Fitzpatrick also dropped a shot after a wayward tee shot to see his lead cut to one heading to the par-five last.
Fitzpatrick was forced to lay up after another poor tee shot but pitched his third shot to 25 feet and two-putted for a winning par, while a closing par for Canter ensured Westwood would end the week in solo second and win the European Tour's Order of Merit for the first time since 2009.
Reed chipped in again at the last for a closing birdie to finish on 13 under alongside Hovland, while Tyrrell Hatton ended the week in tied-eighth and Tommy Fleetwood posted a closing 69 to finish in a share of 10th alongside Collin Morikawa.
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