American Paul Peterson holds off the challenge of defending champion Thomas Pieters of Belgium to claim a maiden European Tour victory at the Czech Masters.
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Peterson drew level with the 24-year-old Pieters after the par-five opening hole at the Albatross Golf Resort, as he birdied while his playing partner took a six.
A run of pars for the leading pair came to an end when Peterson’s tee shot at the 16th left a close-range birdie, before the world No 398 sealed the title by draining a 20-footer at the last.
Paul Peterson had endured a hard season in 2015, but dug deep to overcome Thomas Pieters and win the Czech Masters. “This (a European Tour win) was always a goal this year, so to be able to accomplish it means so much”.
Pieters missed his chances to birdie the 14th and 15th on his way to carding a 70, a week after a fourth-place finish at the Rio Olympic course.
Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick is now nearly virtually assured of his place at the Ryder Cup however, after finishing fifth at 10 under par.
Another Ryder Cup hopeful, Matthew Fitzpatrick of England, virtually secured a spot on captain Darren Clarke’s team for the matchup against the United States at Hazeltine with a fifth-place finish. A 3-under final round saw him finish five strokes behind Peterson.
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English duo David Howell and Ryan Evans both shot 68 to finish 11 under and tied for third, while another Englishman, Matthew Fitzpatrick, was a further shot back and David Lipsky of the U.S. finished up in sixth place after carding nine under.
