obert MacIntyre held his nerve to beat Matt Fitzpatrick in a play-off and win the Italian Open, on the course that may host subsequent 12 months’s Ryder Cup.
The Scot birdied the primary further gap at Marco Simone Golf and Nation Membership after he and Fitzpatrick had completed tied on 14 beneath par, a shot forward of France’s Victor Perez.
Pre-tournament favorite Rory McIlroy, who was inside a shot of the lead till hitting his tee shot on the sixteenth into the water, completed fourth on 12 beneath.
“This implies every thing,” MacIntyre instructed Sky Sports activities. “I used to be down and out two or three months in the past.
“I didn’t know what I used to be doing, didn’t know the place to go, however we spoke to the fitting individuals, began working with (coach) Simon Shanks and I’ve hit two of the proper golf photographs into the final there. There’s a lot arduous work gone into this.
“I hit a horrible shot on 15 which I believed was backs towards the wall however we dug in. I’ve bought a dogged perspective, by no means surrender. I get punched however I punch again. The birdies coming in had been large and fortunately I bought one there within the play-off.”
Talking about subsequent 12 months’s Ryder Cup after successful the second qualifying occasion, the left-hander added: “It’s my predominant aim, it’s my solely aim for the subsequent 12 months. I’ve accomplished it on the golf course.
“In the beginning of the week I didn’t assume this week was going to be the one with the model of golf course, the best way it was taking part in, however we labored on just a few issues on Tuesday and Wednesday and I felt so in charge of my golf ball this week.”
MacIntyre started the ultimate spherical three photographs off Fitzpatrick’s lead, however stormed to the highest of the leaderboard with six birdies in a entrance 9 of 29.
A bogey on the tenth briefly halted MacIntyre’s cost, however he birdied the twelfth and thirteenth and at that time was three away from Fitzpatrick, who had adopted 10 straight pars with a birdie on the eleventh.
Nonetheless, Fitzpatrick then got here agonisingly near an albatross on the par-five twelfth as his strategy from 212 yards hit the centre of the pin and left him simply three toes for eagle, whereas MacIntyre was dropping a shot on the 14th.
MacIntyre additionally bogeyed the fifteenth however birdied the sixteenth and 18th to set the clubhouse goal, with Fitzpatrick additionally making a birdie on the ultimate gap to drive the play-off after dropping a shot on the seventeenth.
It’s the 26-year-old’s second DP World Tour title, two years on from successful the Cyprus Showdown.
Further reporting by PA Sport.
