GUYANCOURT, France — English golfer Tommy Fleetwood hit a faultless 5-under 66 to win the French Open on Sunday by one shot ahead of Peter Uihlein of the United States.
Fleetwood had five birdies and no bogeys to finish at 12 under while Uihlein just failed to force a playoff after making a late charge.
The 26-year-old Fleetwood has been in good form recently, finishing fourth at the U.S. Open last month. This was his third European Tour win and second of the year, after clinching the prestigious Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in January ahead of Dustin Johnson and Pablo Larrazabal.
The victory moved Fleetwood to the top of the Race to Dubai rankings.
Fleetwood failed to make the cut before in four previous appearances at the Golf National course — which is hosting next year’s Ryder Cup. But his performance was arguably not that surprising, given his seven top 10 finishes in 13 events this year.
He became the first Englishman to win here since Graeme Storm in 2007.
Uihlein, the overnight co-leader, was seeking his second career win and posted a 3-under 68.
The American made a rough start, with bogeys on holes 4 and 5. But he then recovered superbly, sinking four birdies from Nos. 11 to 17 to give himself a chance of catching Fleetwood. Ultimately, Uihlein fell short, managing only par on the 18th.
Still, Uihlein did manage to qualify for the British Open at Royal Birkdale — along with Frenchman Mike Lorenzo-Vera and Sweden’s Alexander Bjork.
Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark had eight birdies in a 6-under 65, while Lorenzo-Vera shot 66 as both charged up the leaderboard to finish in a tie for third with Bjork (71) at 8 under.
Bjork, the overnight co-leader with Uihlein, could only manage par on the day, with three bogeys cancelling out his three birdies.
Thomas Pieters of Belgium and Englishman Andy Sullivan — one shot back from the co-leaders overnight along with Fleetwood — had a bad day with 3-over 74s.
Pieters had three double bogeys, and Sullivan had one double bogey and four bogeys. The pair drifted down to 13th at 4-under, alongside Irishman Paul Dunne, who made an inspired 65 to climb up 31 places from overnight.
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