Matt Fitzpatrick did not let the pressure get to him and played a brilliant and nerve-racking final round of 69 strokes, 2 under par, to conquer Real Club Valderrama and win his seventh European Tour title at the Estrella Damm NA Andalucía Masters 2021.
The Englishman entered the final round 3 strokes behind the leader, but while many around him succumbed to the 1997 Ryder Cup venue Fitzpatrick made 15 straight pars to stay on top. He pocketed for his victory almost half a million euros.
Birdies on 16 and 17 put him in total control and he finished 6 under par, 3 ahead of Australia’s Min Woo Lee and Sweden’s Sebastian Soderberg .
English trio Laurie Canter, James Morrison and Robert Rock, Sweden’s Alexander Björk, Kiwi Ryan Fox, American David Lipsky and Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zanotti finished at 2 under par, with only 14 players managing to finish under par at the fearsome Valderrama.
Canter led by 3 at the start of the day and hoarded 8 under par after five holes, but signed for 76, while Soderberg led by 2 under with 6 under par on the 17th tee but dropped three strokes on the last two holes for a 70 card, a score matched by Lee.
The Spanish squad did not shine this time at Valderrama, and the best performance was that of Pablo Larrazábal, who was twentieth, with 1 over par, one stroke less than Rafa Cabrero-Bello, Alejandro Cañizares, Sebastián García Rodríguez, who shared twentieth place.
Fitzpatrick earned his first European Tour victory in his rookie season in 2015 and has only gone winless once, in 2019, when he finished second four times, finishing in the top 25 in the Race to Dubai in each of his seven seasons, including a second, in 2020.
He won his first Rolex Series title at the 2020 DP World Tour Championship, Dubai and nearly won a second earlier this season when he lost in a playoff to Lee at the Scottish Open.
A two-time Ryder Cup star, the 27-year-old was playing his first event since losing at Whistling Straits and bounced back to become the first English winner of this event and move up to fifth in the Race to Dubai Rankings in association with Rolex.
“It was on the bucket list to win at Valderrama with the history it has,” he said.
“It’s amazing, particularly the way I did it – very patient all day, didn’t try to push anything, stuck to my goals and managed to holed the putts at the end. I’m delighted with the win.”
“You can hit half-decent shots and you’re behind a tree and you’re coming out or you have to maneuver something, it’s a real test and you have to be patient for 72 holes. I’m really pleased with the way my attitude was all week.”
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