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Italian Open report

Race to Dubai has a new leader as Wiesberger cashes in

Bernd Wiesberger won his third title of the season as he got the better of Matt Fitzpatrick on a dramatic final day at the Italian Open
 

Italian Open report: What happened at Olgiata Golf Club?

Bernd Wiesberger denied Matt Fitzpatrick to win his seventh European Tour title, his third of 2019, with a winning score of 16-under.

The Austrian signed for a 65 with four birdies on the front nine, two on the back and no bogeys. This was his best round of the week and saw him leapfrog 54-hole leader Fitzpatrick.

Wiesberger now has two Rolex Series titles to his name, adding to his Scottish Open victory from July and moves to the top of the Race to Dubai standings.

A double-bogey at the 9th had Fitzpatrick chasing and he entered the final three holes three shots behind.

He had a good look at eagle on 17 to tie things up but rolled it just by and this left him needing a birdie at the last for a play-off.

The Englishman found the fairway and the centre of the green but left himself with just too much to do with the putt.

Bob MacIntyre was just two back heading into the final day but a level-par round saw him settle for a share of 4th. The Scot is yet to find his first victory on tour but adds to his series of top 10s.

The lowest round on Sunday came from Justin Rose who finished in a tie for 15th thanks to a brilliant 64. The Englishman had two rounds in the 60s to make the cut but a dreadful 78 on Saturday took him well out of contention making the final round which was 14 shots better leave a thought of what could have been.

Italian Open report: Talking points

Andrew Johnston put in another good performance at a tournament where he is a past champion and continued his return to strong form.

The World No. 171 has had his struggles in recent times both on and off the course but a T3 finish in Rome is another step towards in the right direction.

He lingered around the top section of the leaderboard all week with his Saturday 70 the worst round he carded and significantly this puts him within striking distance of the DP World Tour Championship.

The top 50 players in the Race to Dubai standings will head to Dubai for the season finale and with ‘Beef’ projected to move to 51st it’s feasible that he moves inside the qualification places over the course of the final five regular tour events.

Johnston said: “Golf is a strange game. You can think, I’m playing so good and you end up 40th or missing the cut… It felt so scrappy at times all week. I just seemed to keep the ball in play, keep scoring, hitting good shots at the right time and just keep ticking along.

“I’ve just got to keep sticking to what I’m doing. I know I’m working on the right things. My game is trending in the right direction so I’ve just got to keep doing it.”

**

With the use of phones by spectators now widely accepted in golf we have seen several occasions when players have been interrupted during their swing thanks to a ring or a ping.

The recent incident with KPGA players Kim Bi-o was perhaps the most high-profile case but this week Tyrell Hatton had his backswing interrupted by something quite different.

The Englishman was going along nicely on Friday but had the backswing of an approach shot rudely interrupted by the slam of a toilet door.

It was in fact his fiancee who slammed the door…

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