Omega European Masters golf: Day four review as Matt Fitzpatrick claims crown after play-off
Matthew Fitzpatrick came from behind to beat Sky Bet's 2/1 final round favourite Scott Hend in a dramatic play-off to win the Omega European Masters in Switzerland.
Final leaderboard
Fitzpatrick won after third play-off hole
-14 Scott Hend, Matthew Fitzpatrick
-11 Fabrizio Zanotti, Tyrrell Hatton
-10 Mikko Ilonen
-9 Lee Slattery, Alex Noren, Darren Fichardt
Scroll down for full collated scores
Round Four report
Matthew Fitzpatrick came from behind to beat Sky Bet's 2/1 final round favourite Scott Hend in a dramatic play-off to win the Omega European Masters in Switzerland.
The Englishman, a 9/2 shot, entered the final round four shots behind Australian Hend but produced a closing 64 to get to 14 under and take the contest to extra holes in the Swiss Alps.
Hend - who lost to Alex Noren in a play-off at this event last season - missed a six-foot putt for victory on the second extra hole but found sand off the tee on the next trip up the 18th and after he flew the green with his second, a par was enough to seal victory for the pre-tournament 30/1 shot Fitzpatrick.
"I'm delighted," he told Sky Sports. "It's one that I've always wanted to win. I love playing this golf course, from the first ever year I came as an invite in 2014 it's one that has really stood out on my schedule and I always want to come back and play."
Fitzpatrick made four birdies and a bogey in his first eight holes to catch up to Hend and when he added further gains on the 10th, 14th, 15th and 16th, the Ryder Cup star held a two-shot lead.
Hend then hit back with a birdie on the 15th and a Fitzpatrick bogey on the 17th set up the dramatic finish.
England's Tyrrell Hatton birdied four of his last six holes to finish at 11 under alongside Paraguay's Fabrizio Zanotti, with another Englishman in Lee Slattery two shots further back.
Scot Duncan Stewart was then at eight under, with former world number one Lee Westwood finishing at level par in his 500th European Tour event.
Final round collated scores
266 Scott Hend (Aus) 64 63 71 68, Matthew Fitzpatrick 67 65 70 64
269 Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 66 65 70 68, Tyrrell Hatton 64 71 68 66
270 Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 70 70 66 64
271 Alex Noren (Swe) 70 67 68 66, Darren Fichardt (Rsa) 65 63 74 69, Lee Slattery 75 62 68 66
272 Lucas Bjerregaard (Den) 68 67 67 70, Duncan Stewart 65 70 68 69, Wu Ashun (Chi) 69 69 66 68, Andres Romero (Ar) 69 68 69 66, Ryan Fox (Nz) 65 67 72 68, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 68 65 70 69, Thongchai Jaidee (Thi) 65 66 74 67
273 Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Thi) 69 69 69 66, Alexander Bjork (Swe) 68 65 69 71, Daniel Im (USA) 66 68 73 66, Poom Saksansin (Thi) 70 66 68 69
274 Ricardo Gouveia (Por) 67 72 67 68, Marcus Armitage 68 70 69 67, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 68 67 71 68, Tom Lewis 70 68 71 65, Rikard Karlberg (Swe) 69 70 65 70, Julian Suri (USA) 67 65 72 70, Stephen Gallacher 68 65 70 71, Nacho Elvira (Esp) 70 64 70 70, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 68 68 66 72, Julien Quesne (Fra) 70 68 70 66
275 Dean Burmester (Rsa) 70 64 68 73, Richie Ramsay 69 67 75 64, Mike Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 70 70 66 69, Lasse Jensen (Den) 68 68 72 67, Joost Luiten (Ned) 67 68 73 67, David Lipsky (USA) 67 70 69 69, David Horsey 73 66 68 68
276 Adilson Da Silva (Bra) 66 70 70 70, Haydn Porteous (Rsa) 69 69 68 70, Chris Hanson 70 67 70 69, Dylan Frittelli (Rsa) 68 71 71 66, Carlos Pigem (Esp) 66 67 72 71, James Morrison 69 67 75 65, Paul Peterson (USA) 67 70 70 69
277 Anthony Wall 70 68 70 69, Daniel Brooks 70 67 72 68, Eduardo De La Riva (Esp) 70 68 70 69, Todd Sinnott (Aus) 65 66 72 74, Nino Bertasio (Ita) 69 69 67 72
278 Ricardo Gonzalez (Ar) 69 65 74 70, Joakim Lagergren (Swe) 68 70 69 71, Benjamin Hebert (Fra) 70 69 67 72
279 Richard Bland 70 70 71 68, David Drysdale 65 69 70 75
280 Maximilian Kieffer (Ger) 68 67 73 72, Damien Perrier (Fra) 67 72 68 73, Florian Fritsch (Ger) 67 69 69 75, Felipe Aguilar (Cl) 68 72 73 67, Brett Rumford (Aus) 67 73 69 71, Pavit Tangkamolprasert (Thi) 72 66 70 72, Sean Crocker (a) (USA) 66 74 68 72, Sam Brazel (Aus) 68 72 70 70, Lee Westwood 71 67 73 69, Gregory Havret (Fra) 69 68 71 72
281 Gary Stal (Fra) 72 68 71 70
282 Romain Wattel (Fra) 67 69 73 73, Scott Henry 72 67 77 66, Justin Walters (Rsa) 70 70 73 69, Pablo Larrazabal (Esp) 68 72 72 70, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 71 69 72 70
283 Matt Wallace 72 68 72 71, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Esp) 64 73 77 69, Paul Dunne 69 71 73 70, Luke Donald 68 71 72 72
284 Jason Scrivener (Aus) 70 69 73 72, Marcel Siem (Ger) 71 67 75 71, Luca Galliano (Chl) 70 70 71 73
285 Nathan Holman (Aus) 69 70 75 71
Round three report
Scott Hend is Sky Bet's 2/1 favourite to win the Omega European Masters in Switzerland after he opened up a two-shot lead before play was suspended due to darkness on a weather-affected third day.
The Australian came into the week looking for redemption after losing to Alex Noren in a play-off in Crans Montana last season, and he held a four-shot lead shortly after a two-hour-and-26-minute delay due to fog in the Swiss Alps.
Fabrizio Zanotti had reined him in by the turn but with the Paraguayan making two double-bogeys in three holes, Hend's 11-under-par total was enough to give him a cushion with five holes of round three to complete on Sunday.
Zanotti was at nine under and standing on the 14th fairway when the hooter sounded, with England's Matthew Fitzpatrick and South African Darren Fichardt at the same mark on the scoreboard with three and five holes to complete respectively.
"It was all calm when we started but after we went back, it was just so cold out there," Hend told www.europeantour.com. "The greens got a little bit rough so I was just trying to be patient. Everyone was dropping shots.
"Some nice holes to finish with when we come back tomorrow so we will see how we will be positioned for the final round."
Fitzpatrick started with bogeys on the first and third but gains on the sixth, seventh and ninth put the Ryder Cup star right back in the mix at an event where he has two previous top-10 finishes.
"It was a slow start and I'm disappointed not to be a couple better really," he said. "I didn't hit a good drive on 14, missed a seven-footer for birdie on 10 and I left one three inches short on 13 too so obviously if you make those shots I'm leading by one.
"I'm looking forward to tomorrow now and hopefully I can pick up one shot coming in and then go again in the afternoon and fire a low one to do the business."
Dane Lucas Bjerregaard, South African Dean Burmester and Australian Marcus Fraser were the clubhouse leaders at eight under.
Second round report
Australia's Scott Hend is in pole position to go one better than last year after taking the halfway lead in the Omega European Masters, with Sky Bet making him their 5/2 favourite to win the event.
Hend, who lost a play-off to Sweden's Alex Noren at Crans-sur-Sierre 12 months ago, carded an eagle and five birdies in a second round of 63 to finish 13 under par, a shot ahead of South Africa's Darren Fichardt, who is a 7/1 chance.
"It would be nice to putt a little bit better but when you walk off with 63 it's fantastic," Hend, whose children and their nanny are set to evacuate their Florida home to avoid the possible landfall of Hurricane Irma, told Sky Sports.
"I feel like I've been playing really well for the last four months and really wanted to get in the Presidents Cup team.
"I didn't quite make it there which was a bit of a disappointment and I feel like I have a point to prove to myself that I'm good enough to mix it with those boys."
Fichardt recorded four birdies and an eagle in a 64 which left him three strokes ahead of Thongchai Jaidee (12/1), Todd Sinnott (33/1) and Fabrizio Zanotti (14/1), with England's Matthew Fitzpatrick (7/1) alongside Ryan Fox (11/1) and Julian Suri (11/1) on eight under following a 65.
Lee Slattery, who watched his wife Faye give birth to the couple's second child Penelope via FaceTime earlier this week, improved 13 shots on his opening 75 with a brilliant 62 to finish three under.
"I don't know what happened," said Slattery (500/1), who was runner-up in the Czech Masters on Sunday. "Someone's not letting me go home to see my little daughter, it's quite incredible.
"I just got off to a great start this morning and momentum in golf is the most important thing. Five under through six and although I was a bit tired this morning, the adrenalin started running and I just felt like I could shoot anything after that. It was brilliant."
Defending champion Alex Noren (50/1) was alongside Slattery on three under after a 67, while the same score ensured Lee Westwood made the halfway cut in his 500th European Tour start on two under.
First round report
Miguel Angel Jimenez has his own record as the oldest winner in European Tour history in his sights after making a flying start to the Omega European Masters.
Jimenez, who won the Open de Espana in 2014 at the age of 50 years and 133 days, is 14/1 with Sky Bet to triumph at Crans-sur-Sierre after ending the opening day on six under par alongside the 5/1 tournament favourite Tyrrell Hatton and 10/1 shot and 2016 runner-up here Scott Hend.
The 53-year-old Spaniard has played just three European Tour events in 2017 as he focuses on the senior tour but rolled back the years on Thursday with seven birdies and a solitary bogey to card an opening 64 for share the lead.
Meanwhile, those who followed Ben Coley's pre-tournament tips will be encouraged by 225/1 selection Daniel Im, who is now 50/1 after opening with a four-under-par round of 66.
"Anything can happen," Jimenez told Sky Sports when asked about his prospects of winning on Sunday. "I'm playing good and feeling good.
"When you hit it good nothing is difficult. I played well, especially my irons to the flag were very good.
"I always enjoying coming here. It's an amazing place and my 28th time coming here. I only missed one year because it clashed with the Senior British Open (in 2015)."
Hatton has not made a halfway cut since the BMW PGA Championship in May, but holed his second shot to the 12th - his third hole of the day - for an eagle and added five birdies and a single bogey.
"It was a difficult summer so very happy with today's round and hopefully I can post a few more good numbers this week," said the 25-year-old, who has slipped from a career-high of 14th in the world rankings to 30th.
"I went through a really good run with the putter but since Austin (the WGC-Dell Match Play in March) I had a little hiccup with the one that worked really well - I punished it - and haven't found one that works.
"I had it re-shafted but it wasn't the same, although it did have a few extra battle scars on the bottom of it."
Scotland's Duncan Stewart and David Drysdale were part of a six-strong group on five under, with former world number one Luke Donald two under and defending champion Alex Noren on level par.
Stewart is currently 137th on the Race to Dubai and needs some good results to move into the top 100 and keep his card for next season.
"It's been a long time since I had a bogey-free round and a long time since I got off to a good start in a tournament as well," the Challenge Tour graduate Stewart said.
"I did a lot of work with my coach the last two days, I think I put him through his paces a little bit and thankfully it's paying off. Being out first and taking advantage of the good greens was good.
"It's my first time up here. Somebody said this course might suit my game, it's about plotting your round and not bombing it so it was nice to come here and see that it suits my eye."
Lee Westwood carded a one-over-par 71 on his 500th European Tour start, while Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn was forced to withdraw after 15 holes due to an ongoing foot injury.