The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Fitzpatrick in front in Dubai after final flurry
Englishman leads eight-strong pack by one shot after five birdies in six holes
Matt Fitzpatrick claimed the outright lead on a day of low scoring in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic yesterday thanks to a brilliant burst over the final holes.
Fitzpatrick birdied five of his last six holes to card an opening seven-under-par 65 and finish a shot ahead of an eightstrong group which included former Masters champion Sergio Garcia, world No 5 Bryson DeChambeau and England’s Callum Shinkwin.
Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and defending champion Li Haotong were among nine players a shot further back as 74 players in the 132-man field broke par at Emirates Golf Club.
Fitzpatrick’s 65 was his lowest opening round since the 2015 British Masters at Woburn, an event he went on to win to claim the first of his five European Tour titles to date.
“It was obviously a great finish to the round,” Fitzpatrick said.
“A couple of things that I’ve been doing in the off-season looked to have paid off a little bit.
“I added a bit of extra length to my driver so it’s given me a few yards to help get on in two on the last (the par-five 18th) because I’ve never been able to do that. And then just wedging it a lot better has given me a few more chances coming in.”
Fitzpatrick made a successful defence of his European Masters title in Switzerland last year and finished 12th in the US Open, but was otherwise disappointed with his 2018 campaign.
“I’m not going to lie, I was really disappointed with my season last year,” added the 24-year-old.
“Second in Hong Kong kind of saved it a little bit at the end of the year there, but I knew a lot of things needed to change.
Stephen Gallacher was top Scot on four under. Richie Ramsay was a shot further back, with Scott Jamieson and Marc Warren two under and Colin Montgomerie one under.