Fitzpatrick leads British Masters by 1 stroke, Hojgaard stays on course for automatic Ryder Cup spot

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BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Matt Fitzpatrick will head into Sunday’s final round of the British Masters with a one-stroke lead after posting a 4-under 68 on Saturday and boosting his hopes of becoming one of Europe Ryder Cup team captain Luke Donald’s picks.

The 30-year-old Englishman carded four birdies and two bogeys, while a brilliant eagle at the 15th left him 12 under after three rounds.

Fitzpatrick holds a slender lead over Sweden’s Alex Noren (65) in second. Marco Penge shot a course record-equaling 63 that lifted him into a tie for third. Penge had nine birdies to sit two shots adrift of Fitzpatrick.

Rasmus Hojgaard (69) is tied for 14th and needs to finish in a two-way tie for 29th or better in the tournament being held at The Belfry to earn enough points to overtake Shane Lowry, who is clinging onto sixth place in the list of automatic qualifiers in Europe’s team.

The top six get into the European team automatically. Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Robert MacIntyre and Tyrrell Hatton are already guaranteed to be at next month’s matches at Bethpage Black.

Lowry is not competing in the British Masters, the final event in qualifying, so cannot pick up any more Ryder Cup points.

Donald will announce his six captain’s picks to complete the 12-man team on Sept. 1.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf