England’s Alex Fitzpatrick poses with his Hero Indian Open trophy at the DLF Golf and County Club in Gurgaon on Sunday. Image courtesy DP World Tour/Getty Images.
By Rahul Banerji
Even a closing double-bogey was not enough to halt Alex Fitzpatrick’s march to victory at the Hero Indian Open in Gurgaon on Sunday.
The 27-year-old Englishman rode a streak of five birdies on the back nine to beat overnight leader and defending champion Eugenio Chacarra by two shots at the DLF Golf and Country Club for his maiden DP World Tour title.
Fitzpatrick shot a 3 under par 69 on Sunday against Chacarra’s 3 over 75 to total 9 under 279 for the tournament against the latter’s 7 under 281.
Fitzpatrick, who turned professional in 2022, also made it a family double, following in the footsteps of elder sibling Matthew, winner of the Valspar Championship on the PGA Tour last Sunday and a 10-time DP World Tour champion.
“I’m extremely lucky to have someone who’s got so much knowledge of the game and so much experience that is just a call or a text away,”
Fitzpatrick acknowledged at the post-win press conference.
“I would say that the moment it kind of felt done (the victory) for me was when I had about six inches on the last hole. So I kind of, I hoped that I wouldn’t three putt from there.
“This golf course beats you up in all sorts of ways. It’s amazing and it can be really frustrating. And there’s all sorts of things that come into your head, especially when there’s lots and lots of water around the green.
“So there wasn’t any point where I thought it was done. It was just one shot at a time and see where that leaves me.
Lost for words
“But, ecstatic. A little lost for words but it’s kind of starting to sink in a little bit. So super happy, super proud of myself just for the battle out there.”
Starting the day four shots behind Chacarra (67-69-70-75), who too won his maiden European Tour title here in 2025, Fitzpatrick (70-68-72-69) steadily hauled in the Spaniard despite a brace of bogeys in his first four holes.
Three birdies before the turn put Fitzpatrick’s challenge back on track but his run at the title really sparked to life with a four-birdie blitz between holes 11 and 15.
“I almost didn’t realise that I was doing okay just because every shot was so hard that was kind of all you focused on,” the winner recalled.
“So again it was just keeping yourself in it and hoping for the best and seeing where that leaves you at 16, 17, 18.”
Chacarra too had his share of troubles on Sunday, unable to find any rhythm or putting form. He opened with a bogey but two birdies before the turn ensured he would stay ahead of the pack, even if by a reduced margin.
Three dropped shots on holes 15, 16 and 17 though put paid to his chances, the first coming from an approach that fell short of the pin and rolled off the green.
An overhit chip and a two-putt saw Chacarra drop out of the lead as Fitzpatrick found the green in two with driver and three-wood and converted for birdie.
Momentum shift
On the par-3 16th, Chacarra missed a virtual tap-in for par and on the testing 17th, his second shot flew over the plateau green and into the surrounding rough.
Those two dropped shots would provide the critical momentum shift in the title race.
Fitzpatrick injected some excitement into the final stage of the tournament by double-bogeying the 18th but by then, his lead was a comfortable four strokes and he could afford to three-putt after reaching the green in four.
Patience was the key, as Fitzpatrick agreed later. “I think the best way I can describe this golf course is that even to the last putt today for me, there hasn’t been one golf shot all week that I’ve been able to kind of rest on.
“If you’re not 100 % focused on every shot, it just makes it really, really hard. Shots into greens, tee shots, putts, just, everything is really, really challenging, which is, you know, that’s kind of what you want.
“This golf course brings a real tough mental ability to keep pushing forward and keeping it, be patient and yeah, I’m super proud of myself for kind of digging in there and being patient throughout the whole week.”
Solid finish
Behind them, Ugo Cossard (71-69-74-69) of France took a merited share of third place alongside South African M.J. Daffue (71-67-72-73) and Englishman Andy Sullivan (72-71-69-71) on 5 under 283.
Calum Hill and Ewen Ferguson shared sixth place with Italy’s Francesco Molinari at 3 under 285, while Italian Matteo Manassero and Scotsman David Law rounded off the top 10 on 2 under 286.
Om Prakash Chouhan was the best-placed Indian despite a forgettable final round to finish tied for 43rd on 10 over 298. Bangalore teenager Manoj S. And Kshitij Naved Kaul were further down the order.
Also read: Chacarra has the edge headed into Sunday at Hero Indian Open
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