Matthew Fitzpatrick into the top 10
Matthew Fitzpatrick sealed his place in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship after jumping into the top ten of the European Tour's Race to Dubai with his tied fourth place
Matthew Fitzpatrick sealed his place in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship after jumping into the top ten of the European Tour’s Race to Dubai with his tied fourth place finish at the WGC -FedEx St. Jude Invitational.
The Englishman had led the star-studded field after two rounds when he recorded the lowest World Golf Championships round of his career with a six under par 64. But the 2016 DP World Tour Championship winner missed out on a sixth European Tour title after posting back-to-back 69s to finish five shots adrift of champion Brooks Koepka. The 24 year old collects 382 Race to Dubai points to jump from 15th to ninth in the Race to Dubai Rankings which seals his spot at the European Tour’s season-ending tournament at Jumeirah Golf Estates in November.
Fellow countryman and 2017 Race to Dubai champion Tommy Fleetwood joined Fitzpatrick in a share of fourth place after rounds of 68,70,65 and 66 at TPC Southwind.
“It was a really solid day. You’re always going to look at it and think a couple more putts could have gone, because I think I gave myself three or four good chances from 10, 12 feet,” said the 2018 Ryder Cup Rookie, who moves up to fourth from sixth in the Race to Dubai Rankings.
“You never know what’s going to happen and there’s still a chance out there on Sundays. We know Sundays in contention are difficult even for the best players in the world. You’ve still got to go out there and finish it off. So, go out and do your best, which I did. I would have liked a couple more, but overall, you can’t be too disappointed.”
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy bounced back from a missed cut at last week’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush as he joined the English duo in fourth spot. The two-time DP World Tour Championship winner started the final round with a one-stroke lead over Koepka after he birdied four of his last five holes in a stunning round of 62 on Saturday but only managed to post a 71 on Sunday to finish five shots adrift of the American. McIlroy makes significant strides up the Race to Dubai Rankings after surging from 88th to 41st with a season tally of 832.6 points.
Three-time Rolex Series winner Jon Rahm finished a shot further back to seal seventh place which keeps him in third place in the Race to Dubai while Ian Poulter moves up to 11th in the Rankings after finishing eighth in Memphis.
The top 50 players in the Race to Dubai Rankings will contest the season-ending US$8million DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai from November 21-24 where US$3 million will be up for grabs for the winner, making it the richest prize in world tournament golf.
