Matt Fitzpatrick wins French Open by three strokes for fourth title of season

Matt Fitzpatrick won the 2026 FedEx Open de France by three strokes on Sunday, finishing at 20 under par after a final-round 70 at Le Golf National near Paris. The victory was his fourth title of the season and his 11th on the DP World Tour. Spain’s Angel Hidalgo finished second at 17 under and secured the qualifying place available at the tournament for The Open at St Andrews.

A lead tested on the final day

Fitzpatrick began the final round five shots clear, but did not make a birdie on the first 12 holes. His run of pars kept his score steady while players behind him cut the gap to two. The DP World Tour reported that Eugenio Chacarra had reduced the overnight advantage as Fitzpatrick approached the 13th. The Englishman’s ability to save par, including after finding trouble around the greens, kept him in front through the opening stretch.

The breakthrough came at the 13th, where Fitzpatrick made his first birdie of the day. He added another at the 15th to rebuild his cushion, then bogeyed the 18th without putting the result in doubt. The 70 left him three clear of Hidalgo. According to the DP World Tour, the closing bogey was only Fitzpatrick’s second of the tournament, a measure of how rarely he had dropped shots over the four rounds.

“Obviously delighted to get it over the line, it was definitely a battle today,” Fitzpatrick told the DP World Tour. He said he had not had his best game through the first 12 holes and credited his scrambling for the sequence of pars. He described his play over the last six holes as some of his best of the week, when the two late birdies turned a narrowing lead into a comfortable winning margin.

Hidalgo takes the Open place

Four players shared third at 15 under: French pair Matthieu Pavon and Tom Vaillant, Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan and Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra. Pavon closed with a seven-under-par 64, matching Dan Bradbury for the lowest round of the final day, according to the DP World Tour. The French Golf Federation described Pavon and Vaillant as the leading home players; Vaillant birdied the last to join the group in third.

The French federation reported that Pavon made an eagle at the third and birdies at the 10th, 11th, 16th and 18th during his closing round. Vaillant’s finish followed an eagle at the 14th, a bogey at the 15th and a birdie at the last. Their shared third place gave the home crowd two French players among the four golfers immediately behind Hidalgo on the final leaderboard.

A fourth title in 2026

BBC Sport reported that Fitzpatrick’s earlier victories this season were the Valspar Championship and RBC Heritage on the PGA Tour, plus the Zurich Classic team event in New Orleans alongside his younger brother Alex. Counting that team win, the French Open was his fourth title of 2026. The DP World Tour recorded it as the 11th win of his career on the circuit.

Fitzpatrick also spoke about the tournament’s history after winning. In remarks reported by the DP World Tour, he said it was special to join a list of French Open winners that includes Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros. The Tour reported that he and his wife Katherine had recently welcomed their first child, Jack. Fitzpatrick called the result his first win as a father and said he was looking forward to seeing his family at home.