Rule Britannia! Matty Fitz, Lee Westwood Win Big At DP World Finale

It was a huge day for British golf Sunday in Dubai — absolutely huge.

When Lee Westwood finished with birdies at 16 and 18 on the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates, he signed his card and waited to see if he’d win “The Race” — as in The Race To Dubai and the Harry Vardon trophy symbolic of Europe’s top player.

Didn’t take long.  Westwood’s countryman — young Matt Fitzpatrick came through for Westy and Great Britain.  Matty recovered from a bogey at the 17th and parred the 18th for a 68 and a 15-under par title that won him a whopping $3 million at the DP World Tour championship.

Right behind him at 14-under, Westwood got solo second with his own closing 68 and won “The Race” at age 47.  The man who has been the golfing standard in England the past 20 years is once again No. 1 in the realm.

Even more satisfying to all Europeans is that Westwood and Fitzpatrick combined to shut down the threat of American Patrick Reed becoming the No. 1 player in Europe.  That would have been a total stinger to everyone on the last European Ryder Cup team.  Even worse, it would not have been a good look for Reed to come over and walk off with that title.

Reed was in position to do it. The final round started out with Fitzpatrick tied at the top at 11-under par with Reed and Englishman Laurie Canter.  Fitzpatrick wasted no time sending a message to Reed and the rest of the contenders after he birdied his first four holes of the day then added another at the seventh.  He shot 31, was 16-under and totally in the driver’s seat with nine holes to play.  Eight pars, a single bogey and he was the winner with Three-m-m-million dollars coming his way.  Reed could do no better than a closing 70 although he was in position to win it all, bogeys at 16 and 17 doomed him and he finished tied for third with young Viktor Hovland at 13-under thanks to a pitch-in for birdie from off the green at the 72nd hole.

“It was just obviously a bit of a grind on the back nine,” Fitzpatrick said afterward.  “For me it was just about finishing one hole at a time and just getting through it.  So I managed to do that and finished well.  I had no idea about the Race to Dubai because I knew where I started the week at 16th (in point standings), a lot needed to go my way. When I saw Lee at second, it did enter my head briefly going to 18, even if I win it’s probably not going to be enough, anyway. I just wanted to win a lot this week.”

Fitzpatrick’s win will move him into the world’s top 20.  “I’m just trying to improve every year. I really set high standards of myself and I am honestly very hard on myself and my team will all tell you the same thing.  To be here at 26, and I don’t know what this win has taken me to in the world, potentially my highest year-end ranking, I’m very, very happy,” he added.

As for senior statesman Westwood, it’s a major accomplishment for the graybeard.

Westwood was emotional after winning “The Race.”  He had admitted many times that he was not sure he would ever win again.  But he turned back the clock and claimed a 25th European Tour triumph and second Rolex Series title earlier this season at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.  “Obviously it’s been a bizarre year for so many reasons and the European Tour, first and foremost, have done an incredible job to pick the season up again from July when I hosted the British Masters,” he said.  “It was a great finish, it’s always exciting this tournament coming down the stretch.

“It’s been 20 years since I sat there at Valderrama and finished second in the American Express Championship to win the Volvo Order of Merit as it was back then,” Westwood recalled.  “I won here in 2009 to win the Race to Dubai and now I’ve finished second to win it today.

“It’s not getting any easier and I’m just enjoying playing golf against these great young players.”

What Westwood didn’t say was that deep down inside, he was ecstatic to take the title from Reed, who was No. 1 in points coming into the event.

What happened on this Day Of The Brits is that the young and the old took care of Reed — the 26-year-old Fitzpatrick and the 47-year-old Westwood.

Rule Britannia.

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