Danny Willett triumphed in Switzerland.
Crans Montana, Switzerland:
Danny Willett held off stiff competition from fellow Englishmen
Matt Fitzpatrick and
Tyrrell Hatton to win the Omega European Masters and clinch his third European Tour title.
The overnight co-leader carded a bogey-free closing round of 65 to finish the tournament on 17-under-par, one shot ahead of former US Amateur Champion Fitzpatrick, with Hatton one shot further back on 15-under.
Fitzpatrick opened his final round with a bogey at the par four first, before firing four birdies in his next eight holes to hold a one shot lead at the turn. But a bogey at 11 saw the 20-year-old slip back to 14-under alongside Willett, who fired three consecutive birdies from the 13th to put himself in the driving seat.
The Sheffield native then finished his round with three straight pars to claim his second title of the campaign, following his win in the season-opening Nedbank Golf Challenge.
Victory moved Willett to second in The Race to Dubai behind leader
Rory McIlroy, and could well see him climb into the top 25 of the Official Golf World Ranking.
“It was a great day,” he said. “Yesterday was a bit disappointing, but today I played some really good golf.
“Matt was snapping at my heels all day, so I’m delighted to get the job done. I kept really calm all day, and just waited for the chances to come.
“Having a lag putt is almost trickier than trying to hole one sometimes, so I was pretty relieved to see it stop a foot or two from the hole.
“Two wins and good performances in Majors and Golf Championships is more than I could have hoped for really, but I have worked really hard so it is nice to get the rewards for it.”
Fitzpatrick was happy with the way he played and reserved special praise for Willett.
He said: “I played to win but Danny just went one better, so you have to take your hat off to him. I don’t have any regrets whatsoever, and that is all you can ask of yourself. I gave it everything, but Danny was very impressive.
“There were a couple of turning points which decided it, but I matched him birdie for birdie for the most part.”
The lowest score of the day went to Hatton, who carded an eagle and six birdies on his way to an eight-under 62. He said: “It is my lowest score on the European Tour, so even though I have come up just short I cannot be disappointed. To do it on a Sunday at a place like Crans is very special.”
Elsewhere Sweden’s Pelle Edberg shot a 63 to finish the tournament in fourth place on 14-under, two shots clear of Indian Anirban Lahiri, with world number 10 Sergio Garcia a shot further back.
The final round challenge of Korean-American David Lipsky, who was bidding to become the first player to successfully defend his Omega European Masters title since Seve Ballesteros (1977-78), did not materialise. The reigning Asian Tour Order of Merit champion struggled to a 73 and finished tied for 16th.
The Omega European Masters is the only event on European soil to be jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.
