Matt Fitzpatrick wins £1.3million jackpot with dramatic victory at DP World Tour Championship in Dubai
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK celebrated his second anniversary as a European Tour player with a £1.3million pay-day — and by bumping Nick Faldo and Rory McIlroy out of the record books.
The 22-year-old birdied the final hole to clinch a dramatic one-shot win at the DP World Tour Championship, which saw him replace Faldo as the youngest Englishman to bag three European Tour titles.
And he also beat McIlroy’s mark of 23 years and 205 days to become the youngest winner of the season-ending showpiece in Dubai.
It capped a stunning few months for Fitzpatrick, who won the Nordea Masters in June and made his Ryder Cup debut in September.
He admitted he has to pinch himself to believe how quickly things are happening.
The ex-US Amateur champion still lives with his parents and was driving a six-year-old Ford Mondeo before he won the 2015 British Masters. Now he has banked more than £4m.
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Fitzpatrick said: “This win has come two years to the day that I got my Tour card at Qualifying School and when I think about that, it’s just crazy.
“Now I’ve won one of the biggest events and it gives me confidence to push even further. It’s the most I’ve shaken over a putt!”
Tyrrell Hatton opened the door by dumping his tee shot into the water at the last, running up a bogey six to finish at 16 under.
Fitzpatrick put his second into a bunker but splashed to four feet. He showed nerves of steel to sink the putt to clinch the £1.05m prize, plus a £276k bonus for sixth place on the Race to Dubai rankings.
Henrik Stenson was the other big winner. He shot a brilliant 65 — matched by playing partner McIlroy — to climb into the top ten. That secured him a second Race to Dubai title and a £986,000 bonus.
He said: “After winning The Open and an Olympic medal — and another Race to Dubai title — this is definitely the best year of my life.”