Matthew Fitzpatrick finished with six less to get his first professional victory on American soil, taking on the challenge of Will Zalatoris and world number 1 Scottie Scheffler in an exciting final round in Brookline.
Last Updated: 6/20/22 7:51 AM
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Matt Fitzpatrick lost his words after claiming his first major title with a sensational victory at the US Open.
Matt Fitzpatrick lost his words after claiming his first major title with a sensational victory at the US Open.
Matthew Fitzpatrick described the sensation of getting his first big win at the U.S. Open as “out of this world” when he beat Will Zalatoris and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler by a shot in an exciting final round. in Brookline.
Fitzpatrick also won the 2013 U.S. Amateur at the Country Club, and those fond memories, as well as his familiarity with the course, helped solidify the belief that “this could be the time.”
Fitzpatrick shot a two under 68 on the last day, making birds in two of his last five holes to celebrate his first hit on American soil as a professional and become only the fourth Englishman of the last century to win the US Open.
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Matt Fitzpatrick claimed his first major title at the U.S. Open with a pair of two putts in the 72nd hole as Will Zalatoris missed a bird putt to force a playoff.
Matt Fitzpatrick claimed his first major title at the U.S. Open with a pair of two putts in the 72nd hole as Will Zalatoris missed a bird putt to force a playoff.
“The feeling is out of this world,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s a cliché, but it’s something you dream of as a child. To achieve that, I can retire to a happy man tomorrow.”
Retirement is, however, the furthest thing from the mind of the 27-year-old. Sky Sports’ Paul McGinley believes he is “on the verge of doing something big” and has the game to win “a number of major leagues”.
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Matt Fitzpatrick produced an amazing shot from the bunker at the 72nd hole of the U.S. Open in Brookline on his way to win the tournament!
Matt Fitzpatrick produced an amazing shot from the bunker at the 72nd hole of the U.S. Open in Brookline on his way to win the tournament!
Undoubtedly, that is the goal of Fitzpatrick. “Six is the number,” he said, which would make him equal the amount of Nick Faldo’s big wins.
“That’s the figure we all agreed on. I have a little way to go, but it’s a good start.”
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And he added: “You want to go and earn more now, there is no doubt.
“It’s still easy to get out of the way. I just have to keep doing what I’m doing, and I hope more come along. I’m happy with it right now.”
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Highlights from the final round of the U.S. Open in Brookline when Matt Fitzpatrick won in one fell swoop
Highlights from the final round of the U.S. Open in Brookline when Matt Fitzpatrick won in one fell swoop
Fitzpatrick praised Billy Foster after his victory, saying it helped give him the confidence that he could go on and win the tournament after another near-failure at the PGA Championship last month.
“Billy had been saying for a while, the time will come,” Fitzpatrick said. “‘You’re playing so well. Just keep doing what you’re doing. He’ll come. He’ll pass.’
“I put myself in position after two rounds and then I played well yesterday. I just thought this might be the time.
“For whatever reason, because of my success here before, I thought this was the time.”
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Matt Fitzpatrick made a huge 48-foot putt in hole 13 during the final round of the U.S. Open in Brookline
Matt Fitzpatrick made a huge 48-foot putt in hole 13 during the final round of the U.S. Open in Brookline
For Foster, it was also the first major success of the beloved caddy after approaching many other professionals over the years, including Lee Westwood and Seve Ballesteros.
Speaking to Sky Sports after Fitzpatrick’s victory, Foster said: “Incredibly emotional. Forty years as a caddy; I knew someone would pull that giant monkey out of my back. It was a gorilla, no matter a monkey!
“He played in an absolutely brilliant way. He put my head down losing a few short putts, but I didn’t need to win four, did I? One was good enough.
“It means a lot. Obviously, Westy [Westwood]Darren Clarke, Seve, had his chances over the years, Thomas Bjorn I was making carts for that day when he left him in the Sandwich bunker [2003 Open] and that hurt me a lot: I thought about it every day for six months, it broke my heart.
“But that has left a lot of bad memories in bed. It means everything to me.”