Matt Fitzpatrick claims fourth win of the year at Open de France
Matt Fitzpatrick claimed Open de France glory with a final round of 70 to win by three shots at Le Golf National.
The 32-year-old from Sheffield put himself in pole position on Saturday by matching Seve Ballesteros’ 1985 record for the lowest 54-hole score at continental Europe’s oldest tournament, reaching 19 under ahead of Sunday’s final round.
With a five-shot advantage over home favourite Tom Vaillant, a solid front nine put world number four Fitzpatrick within touching distance of a first DP World Tour title of the season – and an 11th overall – despite a flurry of birdies for Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra.
Any chance of a dramatic finale quickly disappeared with a birdie at the 13th for Fitzpatrick and, even though another on 15th was followed by a bogey to close, the 2022 US Open champion was able to toast a special victory in Paris.
Fitzpatrick said: "Obviously delighted to get it over the line, it was definitely a battle today.
“Didn't have my best stuff for the first 12 holes, there's a lot of patience but coming down the stretch today, to hit the shots that I did and make the putts I did was special."
He said: “Golf's a game of multiple skills and I used them all in the end this week! I felt like the first 12 was a battle, different wind directions kind of threw me off a little bit today.
“It just felt fantastic with the short stuff today in particular. And I felt in a way I was a little bit lucky, I left myself in some nice spots that you can still get up and down from, so fully took advantage of that.”
Spain’s Angel Hidalgo ended up as Fitzpatrick’s nearest challenger after carding 67 to finish on 17 under, with Vaillant one of four players tied for third on 15 under alongside Lopez-Chacarra.
This was Fitzpatrick’s fourth tournament victory of 2026, having triumphed on the PGA Tour at the Valspar Championship, RBC Heritage and Zurich Classic of New Orleans.