FLEETWOOD WINS, LOWRY TIED THIRD IN INDIA
Tommy Fleetwood’s sensational year continues after he won the DP World India Championship where Shane Lowry was tied third. (Photo: Getty)
Tommy Fleetwood added another chapter to his fairy-tale year as he fought off a world-class field to win the inaugural DP World India Championship where Ireland’s Shane Lowry finished tied third while Rory McIlroy ended his week midtable.
Having ended his long wait for a first PGA TOUR title at the Tour Championship to capture the FedExCup in August, Fleetwood then played a key role in Europe's historic away Ryder Cup victory at Bethpage Black last month.
Fleetwood then moved into the top five on the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time in his career and is now an eight-time DP World Tour winner after producing a brilliant burst of scoring around the turn at Delhi Golf Club on his way to a closing 65. He finished on 22 under, two clear of third-round leader Keita Nakajima in second and the moment was made even more special as Fleetwood celebrated victory on the green with his son Frankie for the first time.
A charging Daniel Hillier and Nakajima dominated the top of the leaderboard in the early stages, and something special was required to catch them, but Fleetwood was up to the task, reeling off four birdies in a row from the seventh to grab a share of the lead on 20 under par.
After producing a strong par save to remain up at the top, Fleetwood made further birdies from long range on the 14th and 17th to press home his advantage before a closing par saw him enter the winner's circle again at the penultimate event of the Back 9.
Nakajima finished two ahead of Lowry, Alex Fitzpatrick and Thriston Lawrence, while McIlroy was tied 26th on 11 under.
Winner's Quotes: TOMMY FLEETWOOD
“It's been an amazing week. I think everybody has been excited about this tournament being on the schedule and on the calendar. Some great players that played, some great names have come over to support the game and to play over here.
“I think for me personally, I've enjoyed it so much. I felt like I was playing well at the start of the week. I've enjoyed the test of the golf course. I've enjoyed the fans here in Delhi and the hospitality that we've been given, how everybody has been so kind to me and my family.
“We were at home last week and we were driving the buggy. I think we were playing golf together, and he (Frankie) just said randomly, do you know what you've never done? He said, you've never won a tournament and I've been able to run on to the 18th green. I was like, I'm writing that down.
“There's going to be many more times where I hopefully get the chance to do that. But that was like all day today, had in my mind could I put myself in a position where I can actually make that moment happen.
“I just happened to play great. It was such an enjoyable round, and Keita, I have to give credit to him. I said to him afterwards, he played amazing. The par he made on 16, the putt he holed after me on 17, I think he did amazing, and he was a pleasure to play against today.
“This means a lot, this win. It means I can carry on and I can play Abu Dhabi and Dubai and there's still opportunities left.
“They've been amazing with me (DP World). They've been amazing partners. I hope that they feel the same about me. I feel very proud that they've put this event on for all of us players, and I'm the guy that gets to win the tournament first. There will be many more wins in the future, but I feel proud that I've got this piece here forever.”
Round four scores
266 T FLEETWOOD (ENG) 68 64 69 65,
268 K NAKAJIMA (JPN) 65 69 65 69,
270 T LAWRENCE (RSA) 69 67 69 65, A FITZPATRICK (ENG) 69 67 67 67, S LOWRY (IRL) 64 69 69 68,
271 J LUITEN (NED) 68 67 71 65, J SCHAPER (RSA) 70 68 67 66, V HOVLAND (NOR) 71 67 66 67,
272 M KIM (USA) 68 68 69 67, D HILLIER (NZL) 69 67 67 69,
273 B SCHMIDT (ENG) 69 71 66 67, J CAMPILLO (ESP) 67 70 68 68,
274 T VAILLANT (FRA) 72 69 68 65, D BRADBURY (ENG) 70 69 66 69,
275 A SULLIVAN (ENG) 69 68 70 68, B ROBINSON THOMPSON (ENG) 69 66 69 71,
276 C JARVIS (RSA) 66 71 73 66, A GARCIA-HEREDIA (ESP) 72 68 70 66, D RAVETTO (FRA) 71 70 68 67, M SCHNEIDER (GER) 68 68 72 68, M COUVRA (FRA) 70 66 71 69, F SCHOTT (GER) 70 69 68 69, B WIESBERGER (AUT) 71 67 68 70, A PAVAN (ITA) 71 68 67 70, J DANTORP (SWE) 71 67 65 73,
277 E CHACARRA (ESP) 71 68 70 68, A HALVORSEN (NOR) 70 69 70 68, F LACROIX (FRA) 70 70 68 69, R MCILROY (NIR) 69 69 68 71, B HARMAN (USA) 68 65 70 74,
278 H BROWN (DEN) 73 67 71 67,
279 S KAPUR (IND) 72 69 70 68, B GRIFFIN (USA) 68 68 72 71, Z LOMBARD (RSA) 68 70 69 72, M ARMITAGE (ENG) 70 69 68 72,
280 Y PAUL (GER) 71 70 72 67, D VAN DRIEL (NED) 70 71 70 69, P LARRAZ?BAL (ESP) 69 69 72 70, D SHEORAN (IND) 68 73 67 72,
281 M ELVIRA (ESP) 71 70 72 68, F ZANOTTI (PAR) 70 71 71 69, A OTAEGUI (UAE) 72 69 70 70, R WILLIAMS (RSA) 72 70 69 70, U COUSSAUD (FRA) 69 72 69 71, J DE BRUYN (GER) 67 73 68 73,
282 R FISHER (ENG) 72 69 73 68, J SENIOR (ENG) 71 70 72 69, R STERNE (RSA) 71 71 70 70, L DONALD (ENG) 68 71 71 72,
283 N VON DELLINGSHAUSEN (GER) 72 70 73 68, J GUERRIER (FRA) 69 71 74 69, G DE LEO (ITA) 70 71 72 70, J SMITH (ENG) 71 70 70 72, D FICHARDT (RSA) 74 68 68 73,
284 B ?KESSON (SWE) 74 67 71 72,
285 A LAHIRI (IND) 70 71 73 71, J KRUYSWIJK (RSA) 73 69 70 73, S SHARMA (IND) 74 66 71 74, J GIRRBACH (SUI) 70 70 70 75, N ELVIRA (ESP) 68 73 69 75,
286 G GREEN (MAS) 71 68 75 72, R CABRERA BELLO (ESP) 71 71 72 72,
287 A LOHAN (IND) 70 72 73 72, J SCRIVENER (AUS) 73 69 71 74,
288 J GUMBERG (USA) 70 72 75 71,