Matt Fitzpatrick holes most ridiculous putt of the year to get in contention at DP World Tour Championship
Young Englishman found cup from 78ft in third round for an eagle to vault up leaderboard
MATT FITZPATRICK holed the most outrageous putt of the year to move into contention for a £1millionjackpot at the DP World Tour Championship.
That bumper first prize would be the perfect way for the 22 year old Sheffield golfer to sign off a memorable year, which saw him win his second European Tour title and make his Ryder Cup debut.
It would also be a fitting farewell to his management company, ISM – it now looks certain that Fitzpatrick, one of the hottest young properties in the game, will link up with rival firm Hambric, after an acrimonious behind-the-scenes battle.
Fitzpatrick’s greatest attribute is his putting. But he admitted there was a lot of luck involved in the 78 footer he nailed for an eagle at the long seventh hole.
He grinned: “It was a long putt alright – and it looked like travelling a lot further, because I think it was going off the green and down to the next tee if it had missed the hole.
“Fortunately it smashed the hole and went right in the middle. Yeah, I was pretty relived that one went in.”
Fitzpatrick also picked up seven birdies – shrugging off an early bogey and a double at the short 13th- as he carded a 66 to move into a three-way tied for second place on 12 under par.
He is alongside fellow Englishman Tyrrell Hatton and big-hitting Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts, a shot behind Frenchman Victor Dubuisson.
Dubuisson lit up the course with a eight under par 64 – although fifth placed Spaniard Rafa Cabrera-Bello actually went a shot lower, as the players gorged themselves on birdies and eagles.
Hatton, 25, is also looking to continue a hot streak that brought him top ten finishes in both the Open and the USPGA Championship, followed by a maiden victory in the Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews.
But English veteran Lee Westwood, 43, is not ready to step aside for the younger generation yet.
Just when it looked like his chances might be slipping away he conjured up three birdies in the final four holes, and is in a three way tie for fifth.
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Henrik Stenson also summoned up a storming finish as he rammed home four birdies in a row to virtually seal his second Race to Dubai title.
That allowed him to keep breathing down the neck of fellow Swede Alex Noren, his only realistic challenger for the money list after a 76 dropped second placed Danny Willett outside the top fifty in Dubai.
Noren is six shots off the lead –the same position he started in South Africa last week, when a closing 63 sent him powering to a six shots victory.
But even a repeat of that round would probably not be enough for the top two finish Noren needs to have any chance of denying Stenson –not with 12 players above him on the leaderboard, all capable of going low.