Matthew Fitzpatrick wins in Sweden to boost Ryder Cup chances

Matthew Fitzpatrick now stands third in the European Ryder Cup rankings

England's Matthew Fitzpatrick eased to victory at the Nordea Masters in Sweden to claim his second European Tour title and boost his Ryder Cup chances.

The 21-year-old from Sheffield had a five-shot lead overnight, which dropped to two shots around the turn.

But he hit a one-under par 71 to finish on 16 under, three shots ahead of Denmark's Lasse Jensen with Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts a shot further back.

The win sees Fitzpatrick regain third place in the Ryder Cup qualifying race.

With the top four in that list qualifying for the competition, which starts on 30 September in Hazeltine, Minnesota, Fitzpatrick overtakes fellow Englishman Chris Wood, who won the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth last Sunday.

Fitzpatrick admitted the win put him "a million miles ahead of schedule", but he said of his Ryder Cup chances: "It's something I'm trying to play down a little bit.

"There's still a long way to go before then, there are still three majors and anyone can win them. Hopefully I'll keep playing well and see where we end up come September."

Fitzpatrick also won last year's British Masters and finished tied seventh in this year's US Masters, won by fellow Sheffield golfer Danny Willett.

But after missing three cuts since then, he said: "It's been a tough past few weeks and all of a sudden you turn up and pick up a win. That's golf and I've seen it a lot this year.

At 21 years and 278 days Fitzpatrick becomes the youngest winner of the Nordea Masters and the second youngest Englishman to record his first two European Tour victories after Sir Nick Faldo.