Alex Fitzpatrick wins Hero Indian Open to join brother Matt in the winner's circle
Alex Fitzpatrick admires the Hero Indian Open trophy
England's Alex Fitzpatrick followed his older brother Matt into the winner's circle when he came from four shots off the lead to win the Hero Indian Open and his maiden title.
Just a week after Ryder Cup star Matt (31) followed his narrow loss in The Players Championship with a one-shot win in the Valspar Championship, Alex (27) claimed his maiden DP World Tour title by two shots from overnight leader and defending champion Eugenio Chacarra at DLF Golf & Country Club.
As a result, the Fitzpatricks became the first brothers to win back-to-back weeks on the PGA and DP World Tours.
While he took seven at the par-five 18th, Fitzpatrick shot 69 to the Spaniard's 75 to win by two strokes on nine-under par in his 87th start and earn €375,811.
"I'll try and explain without crying," said an emotional Fitzpatrick, who was six shots behind Chacarra after five holes before he made eight birdies in a 12-hole stretch from the sixth to take the lead.]
"It's been a lot of hard work for a long time. And yeah, there are a lot of people to thank for this.
"As much as this is the most amazing thing in the world right now, there are more important things than golf in life.
"But yeah, over the moon. Probably going to cry, but yeah, ecstatic."
At the PGA Tour Texas Children's Houston Open, Gary Woodland shot a five-under 65 to take a one-shot lead over Denmark's Nicolai Højgaard as he chases his first win since the 2019 US Open.
Højgaard applied pressure by carding a 63 at Memorial Park, but Woodland was able to respond and lead on 18-under par.
It looks like a two-horse race for the title with defending champion Min Woo Lee five shots off the lead in third after a 67,
It will be a testing final day for Woodland, who had brain surgery in September 2023 and recently opened up at The Players about his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder.
"I've just got to take a deep breath," Woodland said. "I'll have a good night ahead of me tonight to recover and rest, and tomorrow, just don't get ahead of yourself.
"I'm here, I put myself in this position for a reason, so take a deep breath and maintain what I'm doing."
At 47th in the world, Hojgaard will likely remain in the world's top 50 before tomorrow's world rankings cut-off and earn his third Masters start.
He's won three times on the DP World Tour, but he's chasing his maiden win on the PGA Tour.
"You know it's going to be a grind, you know it's going to come down to potentially the last few holes anyway," the Dane said.
"So you've just got to stay in the fight and play your best and do your best and then let's see where we end up."
The final round also offers Shane Lowry another chance to distance himself from his recent disappointments and take some confidence to Augusta National when he heads there next week to practice.
He goes into the final round tied for 34th on five under after a third-round 69.
He's made just four bogeys in 54 holes and shown signs that his iron play is close to where it needs to be for the Masters.
On the LPGA Tour, South Korea’s Hyo-Joo Kim has a four-shot lead over Nelly Korda heading into the final round of the Ford Championship in Arizona.
She carded an 11-under-par 61 on Whirlwind Golf Club's Cattail Course to lead on 25-under-par.
