Double-bogey proves costly for Sheffield’s Matthew Fitzpatrick at Italian Open
The Austrian carded a bogey-free 65 in Rome to overturn a three-shot deficit and beat overnight leader Fitzpatrick by one – condemning the 2016 Ryder Cup star to a fifth runners-up finish of the 2019 campaign worldwide.
Fitzpatrick had started the day with a one-shot lead but a double-bogey after going out of bounds off the tee on the ninth proved costly.
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Hide AdThe Yorkshireman picked up three shots on the back nine to finish but could only par the last after leaving himself 35 feet for a birdie that would have moved him to 15 under and into a play-off.
“It was a bit crap,” he said after carding a closing 69. “To lose by one is obviously very disappointing.
“I think I’ve played well when I’ve been up there on a Sunday, just other people really keep grinding and I keep coming up from behind. It is what it is. It’s still a great week, I’m here to win and not here to just make up the numbers.”
Wiesberger made a hat-trick of birdies from the fifth and added another on the ninth to share the lead before Fitzpatrick’s error left him two ahead.
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Hide AdExcellent tee-shots on the 14th and 16th handed the the 34-year-old two more birdies and a 16-under total.
Wiesberger missed the last seven months of the 2018 season with a wrist injury but now sits at the top of the Race to Dubai and has a flying start in his quest to make a Ryder Cup debut in 2020.
“It’s been a great summer for me,” he said.
American Kurt Kitayama finished at 12 under, a shot clear of England’s Andrew Johnston, Scot Robert MacIntyre and Austria’s Matthias Schwab.