Jessica Korda of the US poses after winning the LPGA Malaysia 2015 golf tournament. (AFP)

AFP/London

Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick won his first professional tournament, and a £500,000 (674,500 euros/$766,000) first prize, when he finished two strokes clear at the British Masters yesterday.
A final round of three under par 68, left him 15-under over 72 holes, and two strokes in front of Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen, Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zanotti and Irishman Shane Lowry.  
The 21-year-old from Sheffield, who was the 2013 US Amateur champion, nailed crucial birdies at 11, 12, 15 and 17 while Kjeldsen stumbled when he hit his tee shot behind a tree at the 16th, with the two players tied, and made bogey during a key moment down the stretch.
Zanotti, 32 from Asuncion, who began the day one shot off the lead, overcame an inconsistent round that included five birdies against three bogeys as he finished tied for second despite a bogey at 18. Kjeldsen also settled for a tie for second with the charging Lowry after the WGC-Brigestone International champion carded a final round 67 that included five birdies over the final 18 holes.   Almost 60,000 spectators attended the EPGA tournament that was returning to the European circuit for the first time since 2008.  
Fitzpatrick had been flirting with his first win at the top level for some time and has been touted as one of English golf’s brightest prospects since finishing as top amateur at the 2013 British Open.  
Zanotti was bidding for his second EPGA victory, after winning the 2014 BMW International Open. Kjeldsen won the Irish Open in a playoff in May to end a six-year drought.  
Australian Marcus Fraser finished strongly with a final round 67 to share fifth place with Frenchman Mike Lorenzo-Vera, former world number one Luke Donald of England and Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat.  

Brilliant Korda wins in Malaysia, Ko closes gap
American star Jessica Korda produced an impressive final round yesterday to grab the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia title with a four-stroke victory in her first triumph this year.
The 22-year-old daughter of former Australian Open tennis champion Petr Korda overcame a stiff challenge from Lydia Ko and defending champion Feng Shanshan to secure her win.  
“I had a great day. It is just an incredible feeling. I was calm,” Korda said after winning as fellow players poured juice on her to celebrate a flawless day on the hot and humid course.
Ko, a South Korea-born New Zealander, was hot on her American rival’s heels with six birdies, but a bogey on the 13th hole played obstacle to spoil her hopes for a third consecutive victory following successes at the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open and Evian Championship last month.  Second ranked Ko, who became the youngest woman’s major champion at 18, finished seven strokes ahead to close the points gap significantly with world number one Park Inbee.