Ludvig Aberg arrived on Sunday with a three-shot lead, but the Swede, who still led the field by three with nine to play, imploded; his hopes sunk in a couple of the course’s many lakes.
The European Ryder Cup star’s seemingly serene march to the title – he had one birdie, one bogey and eight pars in his opening 10 holes – was abruptly halted by visits to water on the 11th and 12th, costing him those three shots.
“The back nine was not good, but that’s the way it goes sometimes,” was Aberg’s philosophical take on his demise.
“It got away from me quickly. It was just poor swings. I tried to press a little bit on 12, hitting driver, but it was a really poor swing, and it stings a bit.”
Meanwhile, Fitzpatrick, who had missed makeable birdie chances from 15, 11, 11 and seven feet on four successive holes from the eighth, birdied the 12th and 13th to surge into the lead on 13 under.
But Young stuck with him, also picking up a shot on the short 13th to stay one back.
Up ahead, Schauffele set the clubhouse target at 11 under, while MacIntyre was left to rue an errant shot on the 16th.
He had started the final round six shots off the pace but after five birdies in his opening 11 holes lifted him to 11 under he thought he “was in with a shout”.
A three-putt bogey on the 14th was followed by a birde on the next, with the par-five 16th offering the chance of another birdie. However, after hitting his second shot into greenside rough, he could only hack his ball out and watch helplessly as it trundled across the green and into the water, leading to another bogey.
“It’s a sore one right now,” he said. “On 17 and 18 we played aggressive but smart. That was the caddie’s words. I was wanting to go straight at that pin on 17, just throw the dice at it.
“But I wouldn’t have wanted to walk off there with a bogey on 16, a double on 17, and then probably a bogey on 18 with my head off. Overall a decent week.”
