Matt Fitzpatrick seals victory at FedEx Open de France

Matt Fitzpatrick survived a slow start to his final round to seal an ultimately comfortable three-stroke victory at the 2026 FedEx Open de France.

The Englishman waited until the 13th hole for his first birdie of the day, by which time Eugenio Chacarra had cut his overnight five-shot lead to two, but his scrambling skills ensured he closed out his 11th DP World Tour win with a round of 70.

Fitzpatrick said: "Obviously delighted to get it over the line, it was definitely a battle today. Didn't have my best stuff for the first 12 holes, there's a lot of patience but coming down the stretch today, to hit the shots that I did and make the putts I did was special."

He added in his subsequent press conference: "To win the French Open with the history it has, and just look in here, you've got Sir Nick Faldo twice here and Seve Ballesteros (four times), it's nice to be a part of those names."

Spain's Angel Hidalgo finished runner-up on 17 under and claimed the place in The 155th Open at St Andrews on offer to the highest finished not already exempt.

Chacarra, whose 62 on Saturday was the best round of the week so far, started with a birdie to join Tom Vaillant on 14 under, and defending champion Michael Kim moved to 13 under with a birdie at the third.

But Fitzpatrick came out in determined mood, having warned after Saturday's round that "If I go and shoot a good round, then obviously it makes it almost impossible to catch", and put his approach to eight feet at the first only for the birdie putt to slip by.

Playing partner Brandon Stone threatened a hole-in-one at the next, making his birdie to share second - replacing Vaillant, who went through the green into the water but did well to limit the damage to a bogey.

Chacarra moved to 15 under with another gain at the third, putting the first bit of pressure on Fitzpatrick who put his approach under a tree to the right of the green. He saved his par, though up ahead Chacarra took another shot out of his lead by chipping in for a third birdie in four holes - leaving him six under for his last six, after a birdie-eagle finish to Saturday's 62.

Vaillant holed a fine right-to-left birdie putt at the fifth, sparking huge cheers, and Fitzpatrick produced another excellent par save.

Chacarra birdied the sixth but finally dropped a shot when he lipped out at the eighth, extending Fitzpatrick's margin back to three. The Englishman, like playing partner Vaillant, shaved the eighth hole with his chip, while Kim holed his at the tenth.

Kristoffer Reitan eagled the ninth to jump to third place on 16 under, one behind playing partner Chacarra who rolled in yet another birdie. Fitzpatrick reached the turn two clear after nine straight pars.

The 2022 champion Guido Migliozzi, out in 34, dropped a shot at the tenth but birdied the 11th and 13th to reach 15 under alongside Stone, while Matthieu Pavon overhauled Vaillant as the leading Frenchman and set the clubhouse target at 15 under after a 64 featuring five birdies and a hole-out eagle at the third.

Chacarra suffered a major blow at the 13th as he had to drop out of deep rough and then sent his third into the water. He almost holed out for bogey but ended up with a double while Kim, by contrast, eagled the 14th to reach 14 under.

The 13th hole proved even kinder to Fitzpatrick as he made his first birdie of the day, briefly moving him four clear only for Reitan to birdie the 14th after a superb up-and-down. Chacarra too bounced back from his dropped shots with a birdie at the 14th.

Migliozzi was unlucky to find the water at the 15th, leading to a double bogey. Back at the 14th, Vaillant reinvigorated his challenge with an eagle before Fitzpatrick yet again saved par with a brave up-and-down.

Reitan also sent his approach at the 15th over the green into the water and Chacarra too dropped a shot before Fitzpatrick's birdie at the same hole took him back to five clear and effectively closed the door on any late challenge.

Hidalgo birdied the last to seal his passage to St Andrews and Vaillant's birdie earned him a share of third, before Fitzpatrick finished the job despite just his second bogey of the week.

He said: “I think the first 12 holes, like I say, were a bit of a grind, out of position a few times, and managed to sort of scramble my way to making 12 pars in a row. And then it was nice to make a breakthrough birdie on 13 to get some of that cushion back.

“The last six I really felt like I played some of my best stuff all week. So it was nice to kind of close out there.”

The win capped a special few weeks for Fitzpatrick who, with his wife Katherine, recently welcomed their first child Jack.

The champion continued: “I was just speaking to my wife. First win as a dad is really cool and hopefully I can continue that trend.

"I can't wait to get home and see them."

Pavon and Vaillant shared the honours as top home player, with Chacarra and Reitan alongside them in third on 15 under. Pavon's 64 matched Dan Bradbury for the low round of the final day.

Kim, Migliozzi and Stone finished a shot further back with Jeff Winther alone in tenth on 13 under.