Marbella golfer Ángel Hidalgo finishes second in Open de France

Marbella golfer Ángel Hidalgo finished runner-up at the Open de France on Sunday, producing his best result since winning the Spanish Open two years ago.

Hidalgo carded a final-round 66 to finish on 17 under par, three shots behind England's Matt Fitzpatrick, who held on to his overnight advantage to claim the DP World Tour title. Madrid’s Eugenio López-Chacarra finished third on 15 under.

Hidalgo began the final round six shots behind Fitzpatrick but steadily reduced the gap. He produced four birdies between the 11th and 18th holes to finish strongly, although Fitzpatrick remained composed and prevented the Spaniard from mounting a serious challenge for the title.

The result also secured Hidalgo a place in next year’s Open Championship at St Andrews. Fitzpatrick had already qualified, meaning the Marbella player took the second available qualification place.

"At least I won’t have to go through qualifying again for another year," Hidalgo told the DP World Tour.

"It’s the first year that I’m going to the Open directly, so it’s wonderful, especially because it’s at St Andrews, the home of golf. I’m very motivated and really looking forward to it."

The result continues a strong 2026 for Hidalgo, who was the only Spanish player to make the cut at June's US Open on his debut in the major.

He will next defend his Spanish Open title at the Acciona Open de España in Madrid from 8 to 11 October. Hidalgo won the tournament two years ago after beating Jon Rahm in a closely contested final round.