Fitzpatrick reins himself in to reign at county boys' level

He not only matched his elder brother’s 139 total, carded six years ago when Matt lifted the title at The Oaks, but also shot 18 consecutive pars in his closing round, as Nick Faldo did when winning the Open at Muirfield in 1987, the first of his six major triumphs.

It was only Alex’s second tilt at the county boys’ championship and his last, having met the eligibility requirement of being under 18 on January 1 this year by one day.

His victory, by two shots from Middlesbrough’s James Swash – who carded an excellent two-under-par 67 to go with his opening 74 – underscored both Fitzpatrick’s ability and maturity.

His prodigious length off the tee – the Trackman fitting he had for his Callaway Epic driver showed an average carry of 320 yards – was negated by a tight course so he elected to leave the driver in his bag throughout all 36 holes, which produced 34 pars, one birdie and one double bogey.

“The course was too short and too narrow to hit driver so I left it in the bag for the day,” said Fitzpatrick.

“I was tempted to hit it, but it wasn’t the right idea and I needed to stick to my game plan.

“Three- and four-irons were my main clubs (with carries of around 235 and 225 yards respectively) off the tee.

“It was kind of annoying not to be able to use the advantage I have in length, but my irons were really good so it made up for it.”

The event was Fitzpatrick’s first since last August and was squeezed in between two A level exams.

He is studying Sociology, Geography and Sport and in the autumn will head to Wake Forest University in North Carolina, the legendary Arnold Palmer’s alma mater.

Before then he has twin ambitions of qualifying for the Open – via Little Aston, in the West Midlands – and catching the eye of the selectors to make the European Boys team.

Meanwhile, his brother Matt began the defence of his Nordea Masters title in Malmo with a level-par 73.

Open champion Henrik Stenson, a member at the Barseback course staging the event, birdied two of his last five holes to card a level-par 73.

Italy’s Renato Paratore and England’s Max Orrin shared the lead on 68.