Robert MacIntyre bounces back from poor spell to beat Matt Fitzpatrick in play-off to win Italian Open

ByAlex Livie

Updated 18/09/2022 at 16:54 GMT

The final round of the Italian Open was played out in glorious conditions at Marco Simone Golf and Country Cub. Whether it is the same in a shade over 12 months' time for the Ryder Cup remains to be seen, but the course could serve up drama given the high excitement on Sunday as Robert MacIntyre and Matt Fitzpatrick slugged it out for the title in a play-off - with the former prevailing.

Robert MacIntyre threw down a Ryder Cup marker by beating Matt Fitzpatrick in a play-off to win the Italian Open.

The tournament's venue, Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, will play host to the Ryder Cup in little over a year - and it will witness high drama if the final day of the Italian Open is anything to go by.

Rory McIlroy and Fitzpatrick were in the field to get a sighter, as well as to win, and they were expected to fight things out after starting the final round at the top of the leaderboard.

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But it was MacIntyre who surged from three behind overnight leader Fitzpatrick to force a play-off and out-duel the US Open champion to claim a brilliant win - his second on the DP World Tour.

MacIntyre went on a blitz midway through the front nine, with three birdies in a row from a combined putting distance of under six feet as he peppered the flags in stunning fashion.

The Scot - who came into the week with major worries about his game after a poor run of form - got a bit ragged during the back nine, but two birdies in his final three holes set the target at 14-under.

Fitzpatrick - who came within inches of an albatross when hitting the pin on the 12th - was at 14-under on the 17th, but a wayward tee shot cost him a bogey and left him needing a birdie on the 18th to force a play-off.

The pressure of a final hole does not worry Fitzpatrick, as his win in the US Open showed, and he got down in two from the front of the green for a birdie to take it to a play-off.

The players went up 18 for the play-off and it was a tale of two tee shots.

Fitzpatrick’s drive found thick rough on the left - he seemed distracted by a camera - while MacIntyre split the fairway.

The Englishman was on the back foot from that moment, and he could only make a par. After finding the fringe with his second, MacIntyre played an excellent chip to set up a simple putt to seal the win.

Final Leaderboard

• 1. Robert McIntyre, -14
• 2. Matt Fitzpatrick, -14
• 3. Victor Perez, -13
• 4. Rory McIlroy, -12
• T5. Lucas Herbert, -11
• T5. Aaron Rai, -11
• 7. Kurt Kitayama, -10
• 8. Tyrrell Hatton, -9

While showing flashes of the brilliance he possesses, McIlroy was inconsistent during his trip to Rome - and his final round was summed up by his opening tee shot which went way off target to the right and resulted in a double bogey.

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Big numbers to start rounds have not stopped McIlroy in the past, this year’s Tour Championship being a case in point, but on Sunday he was unable to shake it off.

He loomed large in the leaders’ mirrors when making four birdies between the ninth and 15th, but he found the water off the tee on the risk-reward 16th and that ended his hopes.

It was left to MacIntyre and Fitzpatrick to fight it out. Both made excellent birdies on 16 and 18, holes that could produce huge Ryder Cup drama next year, and so the shootout continued.

It proved to be one extra hole, and it went MacIntyre's way, setting him on his way to fulfilling a big aim of getting into the Ryder Cup team.

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