Matt Fitzpatrick of England is a champion once more at The Country Club, this time with the grandest of trophies in golf.
A U.S. Amateur champion in 2013. The U.S. Open champion Sunday.
In a three-way battle at Brookline that got here right down to the wire, Fitzpatrick seized management with a fantastic break and a fair higher shot on the fifteenth gap for a two-shot swing. He was simply as clutch from a fairway bunker on the 18th that arrange par for a 2-under 68.
Victory was not safe till Will Zalatoris, who confirmed superb battle again from each mistake, dropped to his knees when his 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th simply slid by the left aspect of the cup. Zalatoris, who closed with a 69, was a runner-up within the second straight main.
Masters champion Scottie Scheffler by no means recovered from back-to-back bogeys to start out the again 9 that value him the lead. He had a 25-foot birdie likelihood on the 18th that simply missed and left him one behind with a 67.
Along with the $3.15 million in prize cash, Fitzpatrick had that gold Jack Nicklaus medal draped round his neck, which was solely becoming.
Fitzpatrick is the second man to win a U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open on the identical course, becoming a member of Nicklaus, who turned the trick at Pebble Beach. Juli Inkster received the U.S. Women’s Amateur and U.S. Women’s Open at Prairie Dunes.
Fitzpatrick, who briefly performed at Northwestern earlier than turning professional, received for the eighth time worldwide, and this was his first in America — not less than a event everybody is aware of about. He received the member-member at The Bear’s Club in Florida initially of the 12 months, the course Nicklaus constructed.
“He gave me a bit of abuse at the start of the year. He said, ‘Finally. Congratulations for winning in the States,’” Fitzpatrick stated.
And then barely lifting the trophy, Fitzpatrick despatched a enjoyable message to Nicklaus: “Jack, I won a second time.”
It took a great break, a signature shot and a few guts on the finish.
Fitzpatrick and Zalatoris have been tied going to the fifteenth when the Englishman hit his tee shot up to now proper that it went into the gallery and located an honest lie on grass that was useless and trampled.
Zalatoris missed by just a few yards and was buried in deep grass.
He hit 5-iron from 220 yards to 18 toes under the outlet. Zalatoris went into the entrance bunker, blasted out to 25 toes and made bogey. Fitzpatrick took a two-shot lead when his birdie putt went into the cup with such good tempo it didn’t even contact the pin he leaves within the cup.
Zalatoris once more bounced again, taking over a tricky pin on the par-3 sixteenth to 7 toes for birdie to chop the result in one shot. Both missed 12-foot birdie possibilities on the seventeenth, after which Fitzpatrick missed a fairway on the flawed time, pulling it left right into a bunker with a steep patch of tough proper in entrance of him.
It appeared like a playoff was eminent — the earlier three U.S. Opens at Brookline have been all determined by a playoff — after which Fitzpatrick fearless hit a fade with a 9-iron that carried the gaping bunker in entrance of the inexperienced and settled 18 toes away.
He narrowly missed and will solely watch as Zalatoris missed his final likelihood.
“Matt’s shot on 18 is going to be shown probably for the rest of U.S. Open history,” Zalatoris stated.
“I walked by it, and I assumed that going for it was going to be ballsy. But the truth that he pulled it off and even had a birdie look was simply unbelievable.
“So hat’s off to him. He played great all week obviously and gave a solid round today.”
Fitzpatrick completed at 6-under 134.
The 27-year-old Fitzpatrick, the primary Englishman since Justin Rose in 2013 to win the U.S. Open, felt his time was coming. He is meticulous in charting his photographs and retains a file of all of them to establish what wants work. And he emphasised pace in his swing during the last two years, giving him the size and the assumption to compete with anybody.
That didn’t make Sunday any simpler, a three-man race from the beginning when Jon Rahm and Rory
McIlroy fell again and by no means rejoined the combo.
Fitzpatrick and Zalatoris, who shared the 54-hole lead, every had a two-shot lead at one level.
Zalatoris, who misplaced in a playoff to Justin Thomas within the PGA Championship final month, recovered from two early bogeys. They have been tied when Zalatoris made an 18-foot birdie putt on the quick par-3 eleventh, and Fitzpatrick three-putted for bogey from the identical vary.
The 25-year-old from Dallas instantly had a two-shot lead. He additionally couldn’t maintain the ball within the fairway, and it value him with a dropped shot on No. 12. And then got here one other huge turning level, with Fitzpatrick holing a 50-foot birdie putt throughout the thirteenth inexperienced. Zalatoris did nicely to make his 15-footer for par they usually headed for the tense conclusion.
Scheffler was nonetheless hanging round in his bid for a second main this 12 months, however everybody else turned a distant reminiscence. Hideki Matsuyama had the low spherical of the week at 65, however he completed at 3-under 277, and that was by no means going to be adequate.
In the top, it was Fitzpatrick sharing hugs along with his household on the inexperienced, together with youthful brother Alex, who caddied for him within the U.S. Amateur and just lately turned professional.
And there was his caddie, Billy Foster, one of the common, long-serving loopers in Europe who had by no means been on the bag for a significant till Sunday.
“Billy said it for a while to keep doing what you’re doin and the chance will come,” Fitzpatrick stated. “It did, and I took it.”
— Developing
Source: www.bostonherald.com”