DP World Tour Championship defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick is oozing confidence as he looks to become only the second player to retain the European Tour season-ending event crown in Dubai this week.
The Englishman, who also won the DP World Tour Championship in 2016, claimed his second title at Jumeirah Golf Estates last December to end a year that saw him also claim second spot in the season-long Race to Dubai standings behind compatriot Lee Westwood.
- European Tour to eliminate single-use plastic water bottles at season-ending DP World Tour Championship
- Rafa Cabrera Bello: I’m feeling confident ahead of the DP World Tour Championship
- LOOK: The Race to Dubai contenders at the DP World Tour Championship
- Dubai-based Shiv Kapur wins first Professional Golf Tour of India trophy
This time around, an even more confident Fitzpatrick is raring to go on his happy hunting ground as the top 50 players tee off on the Earth Course on Thursday morning.
“It’s great to be back,” the UAE regular said. “I have some nice memories here, from 2016 and last year, and I just love to play this course. I know this course so well — like the back of my hand — and I could play it blindfold.
“The set up here suits my game so well — maybe that’s why I have won twice. The greens are so pure, they already feel firm. Also the Earth Course suits long-iron play, which — on paper — I’m good at. This game is much easier when you feel comfortable, and I certainly feel comfortable here.”
Once a shy player on tour, Fitzpatrick has come into his own over the past few seasons, and his confidence is paying off on the courses. Only last month, he made a significant surge up the Race to Dubai rankings after winning his seventh European Tour title in style as he overturned a three-stroke deficit in the final round of the Andalucía Masters in Valderrama.
“I played well at the Ryder Cup but had nothing to show for it, so to win at Valderrama was a justification for me,” he said. “The game is always changing but now I am going into events knowing I can win, whereas before I would not be so sure.”
That win in Spain has helped Fitzpatrick up to sixth in the Race to Dubai standings but he would need a win and some help from others if he were to claim the season-long title as his 2,113.2 points total is more than 1,000 behind leaders Collin Morikawa (3,856.4), Billy Horschel (3,620.2) and Jon Rahm (3,402.5, not playing this week).
But the Englishman is only focused on his own game and is not looking for any favours. “I’m higher up that I was as this stage last season and I finished second,” Fitzpatrick said. “So, simply, I know if I win I will have a chance to win the Race to Dubai and that’s it.”
