ENGLAND’S Matt Fitzpatrick opened up a two-stroke lead in the third round of the European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre in Switzerland on Saturday to close in on securing a place at this month’s Ryder Cup.
Former US Open champion Fitzpatrick, who began the day one-shot ahead, carded a seven-birdie 67 to move to 15 under for the tournament he has won twice before.
Swedes Ludvig Aberg and Alexander Bjork and Scotland’s Connor Syme are on 13 under although none of that trio are in contention for a place on the Ryder cup team.
Fitzpatrick is not only hoping to secure an automatic place in Luke Donald’s Europe team, he could also match the late Seve Ballesteros by winning the tournament in the Swiss Alps for a third time having triumphed in 2017 and 2018.
“I feel like there’s a lot of things for me this week,” Fitzpatrick said. “I can wrap up Ryder Cup, I can match Seve’s record and win here three times. A win here is always special and my third would be even better.”
Fitzpatrick knew coming into the event that a top-six finish would earn a Ryder cup spot via the world points list and one more solid round on Sunday should seal the deal. — Reuters
