Matt Fitzpatrick

Matt Fitzpatrick, the 27-year-old from Yorkshire, won by one from Will Zalatoris and Scottie Scheffler while Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa finished tied ...

I thought it was a course that you could play pretty well at and a course that could kind of hurt you in the back pretty quickly. With birdies at the 14th and 15th, McIlroy was minus two and back in with a small shout. McIlroy made par at the tricky 2nd but dropped a shot at the 3rd, a hole which caused him issues in three of the four rounds. From there, he hit a towering, terrific iron into the heart of the green. The actions of a champion. Enter Scheffler. A terrific approach to the 17th set up a birdie three, and cut Fitzpatrick’s lead to one. A Zalatoris birdie at the short 11th meant a two-shot lead at six under. A Zalatoris bogey was the natural outcome. To the 72nd hole; where the Englishman hit his drive into a bunker. He dropped a shot at the 12th and carved his drive into rough at the 13th, from where he could only chip sideways. The duo were now tied at minus five, with Scheffler missing the opportunity to join the party up ahead at the par five 14th green. Scheffler joined him with a birdie at the 5th.

English golfer makes clever save to avoid playoff and relive his amateur glory days on dramatic final day.

Nicklaus won at Pebble Beach in 1961 and 1972. Zalatoris had a 14-foot birdie putt to tie, but missed it by a fraction. But he hit the middle of the green and two-putted from 18 feet for par.

Will Zalatoris and Scottie Scheffler, who tied for second, made it interesting down the stretch at the Country Club, but Fitzpatrick held on to finish at ...

Worse, on the diabolical 11th hole, Scheffler’s par putt from 7 feet rimmed the hole and lipped out for a second successive three-putt bogey that dropped him to four under par for the tournament. But a missed fairway off the 12th tee led to a layup short of the green and ultimately a bogey. He stumbled on the 10th hole when a lengthy second shot was short of the green and led to another bogey. But his tee shot on the par-3 sixth hole was excessively long, sailing 66 feet past the hole, which led to a bogey. Then the tiny 11th tormented Fitzpatrick as a 7-foot par putt skidded past the hole for a second successive bogey. But then Scheffler’s putting stroke deserted him as he needed three putts to get his ball in the hole from 38 feet on the 10th hole. Then, on the next hole, he sent his second shot into a greenside bunker, which led to a second successive bogey. Scheffler appeared to take a commanding lead in the tournament on Saturday with a sparkling front nine, but then gave it all back with a string of bogeys on the back nine. He steadied himself with three consecutive pars and at the par-3, 158-yard sixth hole, he drilled his tee shot 2 feet from the flag for an easy birdie. Fitzpatrick yanked his tee shot left into a yawning bunker, but from 156 yards he struck a crisp iron that bounded onto the green and stopped 17 feet from the hole. Zalatoris began the day tied for the lead with Fitzpatrick at four under par but faltered early when he three-putted from 67 feet below the second hole for a bogey. He held a two-stroke advantage over Scheffler, who had teed off two groups before Fitzpatrick and Zalatoris, the third-round leaders.

The 27-year-old Englishman followed a top-10 finish at last month's PGA Championship with his first major victory in Brookline, Mass., on Sunday.

Zalatoris remedied that somewhat with a brilliant birdie from nine feet on the par-3 No. 16 to add pressure, and they came to No. 18 with Scheffler just done at 5 under after his 67, with Zalatoris at 5 under and Fitzpatrick at 6 under. The first happened on No. 15, when Fitzpatrick and Zalatoris stood tied at 5 under and Fitzpatrick teed off wide right into one of those deals where a player needs to part the crowd just to take the shot. His birdie from there rolled right down the boulevard without much doubt, while Zalatoris played from rough on the other side of the fairway and made a bogey. He did it to relegate Zalatoris, that 25-year-old habitual contender in major tournaments, to a third runner-up finish and a sixth top-10 finish in merely nine tries at the big four. Fitzpatrick did it after a day of gripping competition in which he, Zalatoris and Scheffler separated themselves for a three-man tussle at the top, each grabbing the lead at some point. From that sand, on the left side of the 18th fairway, Fitzpatrick forged the shot likely to stoke reminiscence when this rowdy 122nd U.S. Open becomes a matter of the distant past.

Matt Fitzpatrick came through a final-round tussle with Will Zalatoris and world No 1 Scottie Scheffler to secure a maiden major title with a thrilling ...

Fitzpatrick nailed a 50-foot birdie at the 13th to pull level with Zalatoris, who had to convert from 12 feet to avoid a second successive bogey, with Fitzpatrick then jumping two clear when recovered from a poor tee shot at the 15th to hit his approach to 20 feet and hole the putt. A two-putt birdie on the same hole moved Fitzpatrick to six under alongside Scheffler, while Zalatoris fired his tee shot at the sixth to tap-in range and almost holed-out from the seventh to post back-to-back birdies and get back within two of the lead. A 25-foot birdie at the fourth from Scheffler was matched when Fitzpatrick holed from eight feet at the third, pulling the pair clear of the chasing pack, only for the American to post a fourth birdie of the day at the sixth to move to six under.

Matt Fitzpatrick finished at 6 under to prevail at The Country Club, one shot ahead of world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris.

The game’s there. "The game’s there. "I hope many 7 overs aren’t coming in the future, but it just kind of made me refocus and kind of just get back into things," Morikawa said. It was another heartbreaking ending for Zalatoris, who lost in a playoff to Justin Thomas in the PGA Championship last month. After reaching 6 under, Scheffler bogeyed 10 after an errant drive and then three-putted the 11th (which was playing just 108 yards) for bogey. Fitzpatrick closed with a 2-under-par 68 to finish at 6 under.

Jupiter resident Matt Fitzpatrick has won the U.S. Open, winning his first major on the same course where he took the U.S. Amateur title nine years earlier.

Nicklaus won at Pebble Beach in 1961 and 1972. Zalatoris had a 14-foot birdie putt to tie, but missed it by a fraction. But he hit the middle of the green and two-putted from 18 feet for par.

Matt Fitzpatrick of England is a champion again at The Country Club, this time with the grandest of trophies. A US Amateur champion in 2013.

"He gave me a bit of abuse at the start of the year. Zalatoris was a runner-up in the second straight major. He was even more clutch from a fairway bunker on the 18th that set up par for a two-under 68.

*All products featured on Golf Digest are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an ...

In all, Fitzpatrick—previously a seven-time European Tour winner—made more than 80 feet of putts over the final nine holes. That meant using a special high-strength titanium originally designed for the Mars Lander. The lighter and faster-flexing alloy (ATI 425) means more design freedom to create extra off-center-hit stability in the TSi2 and movable weight in the more pear-shaped TSi3. Fitzpatrick put the blade-style putter, which includes face grooves just like the Tracy II, in play in 2020. The win bookends Fitzpatrick’s 2013 U.S. Amateur win at the same venue and the familiar surroundings clearly agreed with him. Zalatoris dropped a shot with a bogey at 15, but with Scheffler about to knot him with a birdie at 17, Fitz dropped a 19-footer for another birdie at 15 after a brilliant iron approach from a bare patch 230 yards out that proved to be the difference. However things really got interesting starting at the 13th, where Fitz dropped a 48-foot putt for birdie to seemingly take the lead until Zalatoris dropped a lengthy putt for par.

The Sheffield-born golfer adds title to the US Amateur Championship he won at the same course, a feat matched only by Jack Nicklaus.

“Not expected to do well, not expected to succeed. So hats off to him. “I feel like I certainly work hard for it. “Not to compare it to my football team, but I feel like I’m the same deal,” he explained. “Any time you’re sharing a record with Jack Nicklaus, it’s unbelievable,” said Fitzpatrick after his triumph at the course just outside Boston. “So for me to have that as well is incredible. “I just felt so comfortable around this place.

It was Fitzpatrick's first PGA TOUR win, and he becomes the 13th player and first non-American to win the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open. He's also the second, ...

Fitzpatrick still looks like a kid, which is to say he doesn’t look all that different from the player who won here in 2013, with the exception of the logos and maybe a few extra pounds. Jon Rahm captured the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, the site of his first TOUR win and not far from the hiking trails where he proposed to his wife. Fitzpatrick is the first player since Danny Willett at the 2016 Masters to notch his first TOUR win at a major. “Yeah, just happy to be unbeaten around this place.” If you’re a certain type of dewy-eyed dreamer, you can still squint at Matt and Alex and see Ouimet and his own kid-caddie, Eddie Lowery, in 1913. “That’s going to look bad on TV. I’ve said for a long time he deserves one more than anyone I can think of. You could take it as pressure, who knows how it’s going to go, but he stayed calm and had a good game plan. The final hurdle for Fitzpatrick, having driven into the fairway bunker on 18, was clearing the lip that had thwarted Jon Rahm the day before. The relationship between a player and a golf course can mean more than meets the eye. Fitzpatrick’s 17 top-10s without a win were the most on TOUR since the start of the 2019-20 season. Zalatoris, who lost playoffs at the Farmers Insurance Open (Luke List) and PGA Championship (Justin Thomas) earlier this season, and who also was seeking his first TOUR win, had a birdie putt on 18 to force a playoff, but it burned the left edge. This is horrible (laughter).’ And up to that point really, I'd really not missed many shots.

Will Zalatoris and Scottie Scheffler, who tied for second, made it interesting down the stretch at the Country Club, but Fitzpatrick held on to finish at ...

But Scheffler’s putting stroke deserted him on the back nine when he bogeyed the 10th and 11th holes when he needed three putts to get his ball in the hole on both greens. But a missed fairway off the 12th tee led to a layup short of the green and ultimately a bogey. That dropped him to four under par for the tournament. He stumbled on the 10th hole when a lengthy second shot was short of the green and led to another bogey. But his tee shot on the par-3 sixth hole was excessively long, sailing 66 feet past the hole, which led to a bogey. Then, on the next hole, he sent his second shot into a greenside bunker, which led to a second successive bogey. Then the tiny 11th tormented Fitzpatrick as a 7-foot par putt skidded past the hole for a second successive bogey. On Sunday, Scheffler carved up the front nine again, with four birdies in his first six holes. But his 3-wood on the 444-yard, par-4 18th hole was ripped left and landed in the center of a yawning bunker just off the fairway. He steadied himself with three consecutive pars and at the par-3, 158-yard sixth hole, he drilled his tee shot 2 feet from the flag for an easy birdie. In the past year, Fitzpatrick, now No. 10 in the men’s world golf rankings, has worked tirelessly off the course to increase the speed of his swing, which leads to greater distance, and usually to lower scores. BROOKLINE, Mass. — This year’s U.S. Open began as the setting for an unprecedented showdown between golfers who had remained loyal to the established PGA Tour and a breakaway pack of ex-colleagues who recently joined the new, rebel Saudi-backed LIV Golf series.

English golfer Matt Fitzpatrick had always imagined what winning his first major would feel like, but the reality exceeded all expectations on Sunday as he ...

To share any achievement that he has done is incredible," Fitzpatrick said, beaming. "This is the greatest achievement in my career, ever. Like I say, it's just a really crazy special moment." "I just want to win. "It's amazing. The world No. 18 is only the second player -- and the first non-American -- to win both the US Amateur and US Open at the same venue, having won at The Country Club in 2013.

Fitzpatrick just barely outplayed Will Zalatoris to win his first major golf tournament, winning by one stroke in Massachusetts on Sunday.

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Editor's note: Joe Posnanski has been named national sportswriter of the year by five different organizations and won two Emmys as part of NBC's digital ...

Matt Fitzpatrick was going for a little piece of golf history — he was trying to win the U.S. Open, win for the first time in the U.S., become the first English golfer to win the Open since Justin Rose almost a decade ago and only the third English golfer to win it since 1925. Tom Watson will tell you that when he hit his purest shot — the 7-iron he hit on the 18th hole at Turnberry in The Duel in the Sun against Nicklaus — he thought the ball looked like a piece of art against the Scottish sky. In good times and bad, he would think back to that shot and the way the ball looked. You would hope and expect that none of this was playing in Fitzpatrick’s mind as he set up for the shot. See, the last time I played golf was 1992, and it was at Augusta National. In those days, I was columnist at The Augusta Chronicle, and the newspaper had this very cool deal where everyone who covered the Masters for the paper got to play a round of golf at Augusta National on the last day before the course closed for summer. And this — THIS — is why I love golf, even if I don’t play the game. Fitzpatrick is a great golfer with all the shots. Sunday at The Country Club of Brookline, he played the round of his life. He got a great break on the 15th hole. The last time I played a round of golf — and I promise you that at some point this will wind back around to Matt Fitzpatrick and something extraordinary that happened at the U.S. Open — was 30 years ago. Golf is a personal game in the way that football is not. He’d played in more than 100 PGA TOUR events since turning pro as a 20-year-old, and it just seemed odd that someone with his game, his touch around the greens, his brilliant iron play, his meticulous golfing mind*, couldn’t quite break through and win in the states.

BROOKLINE, Mass. — Alex Fitzpatrick was sure Will Zalatoris would make it. Damn sure. He'd just watched his older brother miss his birdie putt on the high ...

“I idolized Tony Jacklin,” he said, sitting on a couch and watching a re-run of the NBC broadcast, gleefully dissecting every shot. His parents and his team did, on the contrary, celebrate with their share of drinks. In exchange, Foster let Russ know he wanted a replica of the U.S. Open trophy. In the middle of the room were four massive tables pushed together; on top of them were things for Matt to sign. “It’s about $300 a bottle!” On the back wall was one of those basketball hoops you hang on a door, accompanied by a scoreboard for the week-long free-throw contest. With Matt off shaking hands and smiling, USGA staff began setting up for the party in a player lounge. Then, with temperatures dropping quickly, into the clubhouse for a meet-and-greet of sorts with The Country Club membership. With the media interviews finally over, it was back to the 18th green for more pictures. He’d just watched his older brother miss his birdie putt on the high side on the 72nd hole of the United States Open, and he knew Zalatoris had watched it as well, and now he was sure Zalatoris would pour his in the middle. Others were potential new ones, wanting a piece of the man on top of the sport. In all honesty, I’d sell it immediately, and that’s not the spirit of the deal. It wasn’t a long way to go; the USGA had graciously pulled the Fitzpatrick clan inside the ropes for the final few holes.

Matt Fitzpatrick is plotting many more major wins after finally breaking his duck in the US Open, writes Iain Carter.

"I'm just trying to find something that makes me a better player. "I don't want to get complacent now. "He has an incredible work ethic and with that extra bit of confidence from winning a major championship it'll hold him in good stead moving forward." "There's not many, in my opinion, that work harder than me. His scrambling and chipping has got a lot better and he normally putts great. His biggest struggle is trying to articulate what this victory means to him. "In terms of discipline, he's just so organised," his father added. "He's put on 20 yards off the tee. It's like going to the gym basically." It came to a head after the majors of 2020. "That's incredible golf. Cowen was a client of Fitzpatrick's bank manager dad.

Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick won the U.S. Open on Sunday, winning his first major on the same course where he took the U.S. Amateur title nine years earlier.

Fitzpatrick also became the 13th men's golfer overall to win both the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Open in his career. At 27, Fitzpatrick is also the youngest player from England to win a major since Tony Jacklin at the 1970 U.S. Open. He said, 'Finally. Congratulations for winning in the States,'" Fitzpatrick said of Nicklaus. He is the second player from England over the past 50 years to win the U.S. Open, joining Justin Rose in 2013. He was even more clutch from a fairway bunker on the 18th that set up par for a 2-under 68. Zalatoris was a runner-up in the second straight major.

Years from now, whether Fitzpatrick wins multiple majors or not, he will surely cite his fairway bunker shot on 18 at Brookline as a career highlight.

“If there was one shot that I’ve struggled with this year, that I just do not want, it’s a fairway bunker shot,” Fitzpatrick would say. Then Zalatoris hit his approach shot four feet closer and the two men walked to the 18th green together, acknowledging the brilliance of the other, their smiles hiding their stress levels. It would be a difficult play in a Tuesday practice round; with a one-shot lead on the final hole of a major, it was defining. But the cushion was gone in a flash. Zalatoris and Fitzpatrick hoping to break through. Unfazed, he did, and away the pair went: a nose ahead of Scottie Scheffler, the reigning Masters champion and world No. 1, with 2021 Masters winner Hideki Matsuyama sitting contently in the clubhouse at 3-under. Fitzpatrick, who was in the final group in that major as well, was a shot back and facing a 50-footer for birdie with which he had to be careful, given missed par putts on two of the previous three holes. Skip Advertisement “Not a golf tournament,” he said of the Saudi-backed series with its shotgun starts, goofy team names, no cuts and guaranteed payouts. Skip Advertisement The tournament’s defending champion stared daggers into a television camera, chastised himself audibly, gripped the misbehaving club firmly at both ends, and mimicked snapping it in two over his knee. On the seventh hole of The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., host of this year’s U.S. Open, Jon Rahm struck an iron shot onto the green but too far right of a left-hand pin for his liking.

Matt Fitzpatrick sat in a fairway bunker, a major title hanging in the balance. All he did was hit a perfect shot, one that will now reside among the greats ...

"Maybe three years ago, if I was in this position and I was playing with Will in the final group, I'd be concerned I was going to be 15 or 20 behind him all day. It would be a bit of stretch to think of the 27-year-old Fitzpatrick as an underdog, even though his braces would help him pass as a teenager in most English secondary schools. He'd long felt overlooked and dismissed in the world of golf, and now here it was, a major championship within his grasp. The moment Fitzpatrick seized control of the tournament, however, turned out to be a combination of patience, brawn and a little luck. When they were finally cleared to hit, Fitzpatrick blasted his drive well right of the fairway. His own ball was in the fairway, and he wasn't sure whether he needed a birdie or par to get into a playoff. "I played with him in Austin this year, and he was not hitting it nearly as far as he is now. He could punch above his weight class, occasionally, but no one expected him to smash the ball off the tee. It came out as a kind of a squeezy fade. "When they show highlights in future U.S. Opens, that's a shot that is going to be shown. It would require a small miracle to get it on the green. He and Fitzpatrick were walking toward their tee shots on the 18th hole of The Country Club on Sunday. Madness was unspooling all around them.

BROOKLINE, Mass. — It is programmed into the minds of course rats such as Matt Fitzpatrick and Will Zalatoris that golf isn't played against the competitor ...

Fitzpatrick had all the evidence right in front of him of what he needed to do — and he hooked a 3-wood into a bunker. That’s enough to beat the course. That’s enough to be the U.S. Open champion. It will be because it won the U.S. Open. It will be because it landed safely above the hole. Fitzpatrick pulled his 5-iron and slung the ball 220 yards to the green. Fitzpatrick tried to match the momentum — and blew his 17-footer by and then missed the comebacker. There is part of Zalatoris that certainly leaves here thinking the 14-foot birdie putt he had at the last — the putt that slid gingerly by and had him crouched at the knees, toppling his putter over the top of his head — is the shot that defines the tournament. Here’s the moment to lose the major, right? This was the 72nd hole of the U.S. Open. The ground below and ahead is the foe. It is played against the course — and only the course.

Coach Mike Walker reflects on the major winner's relentless desire to improve and the emotions of his Brookline breakthrough.

“Matt is scared of him – or do you call it mutual respect?” Walker says with a laugh. He was always hell bent on one thing and that was getting to the top. Fitzpatrick had been confident enough in his US Open position and mindset to let Walker leave the premises on day three. “We had agreed on a goal for this year of getting to the top 10 in the world. “Let’s just say he made a few grown men cry. “He struggles to take two days off. Key, of course, was that Fitzpatrick, who is more analytical than most of his peers, accepted he needed to find extra yards. One thing we did always think was that, if he was going to win a major, it would probably be the US Open. We felt it really suited his game. “He has worked with Matt Roberts on strength and conditioning for years,” Walker says. Whereas before, as the coach you are always aware of the goals and what they want to achieve but I felt I had my hands tied behind my back a bit. He has done it with a combination of gym training with Matt Roberts and Sasho in the background with his weights [fixed to the end of a practice stick called ‘The Stack]. Yet he needed an extra level — one shown when the Yorkshireman held the US Open trophy aloft at Brookline on Sunday.

US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick says sharing an honour with Jack Nicklaus is "incredible" as he revealed his remarkable bunker shot during the final round ...

I feel like I proved I have the ability to go out there. I pride myself on being a gritty competitor, just wanting to win badly and doing the right things." This year I have been three or four shots back going into the final round and then had a good round to finish in the top 10. If I get a chance to win, I'll go and win. "I have never felt like that. "[Winning the US Open] is incredibly surreal.

The 27-year-old from Sheffield had never won a professional event in the US before seeing off Will Zalatoris at the end of an epic battle at Brookline. A day ...

“All I was thinking about was trying to win,” he said. “It was money being thrown at me and more money than I could comprehend but what was the risk? I just want to take it all in.” “I have struggled with fairway bunkers all year. “It’s way better than I ever expected,” Fitzpatrick said. Key to his achievement was a widely acclaimed bunker shot on the tournament’s 72nd hole.

After notching his first win on the PGA Tour, and a major at that, newly-minted U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick has catapulted into the Official World ...

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