PARIS — England's Matt Fitzpatrick secured his fourth title of the season with a three-shot victory at the French Open at Le Golf National, closing with a one-under-par 70 to finish at 20-under and hold off Spain's Angel Hidalgo at 17-under.
The 32-year-old led by five shots entering the final day but was tested early. He reeled off 12 successive pars as the chasing pack cut his advantage to two, before crucial birdies on the 13th and 15th pushed him clear again. A bogey at the last did not change the outcome as he claimed an 11th European Tour title. "Delighted to get it over the line, it was definitely a battle today," he said. "I didn't have my best stuff for the first 12 holes and then managed to find some of my best stuff. In a way I was quite lucky - I left myself in some nice spots where you can still get up and down from, but I fully took advantage of that and did really well."
Hidalgo finished alone in second at 17-under, three clear of a four-way tie for third at 15-under. Matthieu Pavon shot the best round of the day with a seven-under 64 to join French compatriot Tom Vaillant, Spain's Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra and Norway's Kristoffer Reitan at 15-under. Further back, Sweden's Ludvig Aaberg finished at 12-under, Scotland's Ewen Ferguson and England's Dan Bradbury at 10-under, and Italy's Edoardo Molinari and Norway's Viktor Hovland at 7-under.
The victory continues a prolific season for Fitzpatrick. His three other titles this year have come on the PGA Tour — the Valspar Championship and RBC Heritage — as well as the Zurich Classic team event in New Orleans alongside younger brother Alex.