The second highest ranked golfer in the world without a PGA Tour victory in his career was finally proclaimed a Sunday as he simultaneously broke the top tier of golf with his first major championship. Matt Fitzpatrick won the U.S. Open 2022 on Sunday at the Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, with two birdies and no bogeys in the final seven holes to get the tournament to 6 less.
Fitzpatrick, 27, beat his 54-hole co-star Will Zalatoris and 2022 Masters champion Scottie Scheffler in one fell swoop to lift the trophy.
After previously winning the 2013 U.S. Country Club Fan, Fitzpatrick added to his USGA total dramatically with a win at the 122nd U.S. Open. In doing so, he joined Jack Nicklaus and Juli Inkster as the only players to win both championships in the same place, consolidating their place in the annals of golf history.
Fitzpatrick, the number 18 player in the official world golf rankings, surpassed on Sunday after what had already been a strong season in the major championships. The Englishman previously finished T14 in the Masters in April and T5 in the PGA Championship last month.
Still, it hadn’t been an easy road for Fitzpatrick to this point, and his final round at The Country Club was a perfect summary of that. Whether he chose to admit it or not, doubt had to creep in as he missed opportunities to win events over the years.
A player who had always thrived thanks to his combination of accuracy and dexterity, Fitzpatrick arrived in 2022 as a completely re-equipped player. This was evident this week, as the name of the game for Fitzpatrick was consistency. While others came out with remarkably low rounds early in the tournament, he shot 2 below the first 36 holes with a pair of 70s on Friday before posting a second 68 on Moving Day to take the lead together.
Fitzpatrick went up and down the nine forwards on Sunday, and two bogeys to start the back made it look like he would be sitting outside again for a trophy presentation.
A short failure in the par-4 10 was followed by an inexplicable three-putt in the short par-3 11th. A quick three-stroke swing with Zalatoris breathing down his neck could have left Fitzpatrick staggering. A career full of close calls might have added another, but instead of withering away, Fitzpatrick began to thrive.
An emphatic birdie at par-4 13 put Fitzpatrick back in the lead with Zalatoris at 5 below. Two holes later, after losing the fairway, Fitzpatrick hit one of the best iron shots of the day to create a bird’s eye view along par-4 15. With Zalatoris in the bogey, Fitzpatrick entered his third and went momentarily take a two-stroke advantage.
Although Zalatoris and Scheffler threw themselves at one after turning the birds along the stretch, Fitzpatrick never left.
After exchanging pairs with Zalatoris on the 17th accessible, Fitzpatrick went to hole 72 with a one-shot edge and made the only mistake he couldn’t make when he found the street bunker off the tee. He caught it in the chin, after the mistake with a shot that defined the race on the green that established his victory at the US Open. Fitzpatrick lost an 18-foot birdie putt for the win, but Zalatoris missed a similar 14-foot one-putt putt while Fitzpatrick recorded his third 68 of the tournament and first PGA Tour victory.
“If there’s been one shot I’ve been fighting this year that I don’t want, it’s a street bunker shot,” Fitzpatrick said of his approach to hole 72. “I guess [caddie] Billy [Foster] just took over. It’s one of the best shots I’ve ever hit. When I saw him come out of the sand and heard the strike, I couldn’t be happier. “
The U.S. Open is often and rightly described as “the toughest test of golf.” Most believe this is because of the conditions. Undoubtedly, they have a role to play, but the mental challenge posed by the USGA far outweighs them. Competing in the U.S. Open is really a roller coaster of emotions, and a small misstep may be the downfall of one.
Fitzpatrick had his fair share of errors on Sunday, but took the blows like a champion. In the process, he left the nickname he saddled for so long, silencing his doubts and reigning at the helm of the sport with the national championship trophy.
“No words,” Fitzpatrick said after lifting the trophy. “It’s what you grow up dreaming about. It’s something I’ve worked so hard for, for so long, I was a big monkey on my back trying to win. [in the United States]. This was just what everyone was talking about. To do it with a major for my first victory, there is nothing better. “
Here is a breakdown of the rest of the standings at the 2022 US Open
T2. Will Zalatoris and Scottie Scheffler (-5): It’s an inch game after all, and when Zalatoris and Scheffler narrowly missed birdie chances in the 72nd hole, Fitzpatrick became your U.S. Open champion. . It was a brave effort from Zalatoris, who after making bogey at par-4 at 3pm added a bird on the 16th and was given two more realistic chances on arrival. It shouldn’t have been, but I’m not surprised that The first victory, like Fitzpatrick’s, comes in a major championship, as he now has three runner-up results in just nine appearances and the top 10 in the top seven in which he played the weekend.
“Will is a very talented player. He’s strong mentally. That’s why he acts so well,” Scheffler said of his good friend. “It happens that the last two seniors have faced great champions Fitzy and Justin Thomas. It’s one of those chords where you keep knocking on the door and keep putting yourself in position, and he’ll come out. ‘these when everything is said and done “.
4. Hideki Matsuyama (-3): A 5 under 65, the low round of the day, pushed the former Master Champion into the fight when it was a later idea for most of the week. It has been a strange year for Matsuyama as he has struggled with an injury, has been disqualified and has now finished in the top five in a major championship. “Yeah, to be honest, I don’t think this is my 100% performance, but it gives me a big boost to my confidence,” Matsuyama said. “So I’m going to do my best, try to connect that momentum with my next game and be prepared for that.”
T5. Collin Morikawa and Rory McIlroy (-2): If you had told Morikawa earlier this week that he would have signed for three rounds in the 1960s, he would have taken it right away. Unfortunately, a 77 in the third round, his worst score in a major championship, derailed his aspirations for the U.S. Open. However, his play at the Country Club marked another strong end in a major. In 11 major appearances, the 25-year-old has two wins, two first five finals and another result in the top 10 by far. Now look at St. Andrews for the Open Championship where he hopes to successfully defend his title.
“I don’t know if I found anything. I think he taught me to just go play golf,” said Morikawa, who insisted his game wasn’t where he wanted it to be for most of the championship. “This year he’s been very focused on trying to hit that cut and try to be so perfect, and that’s who I am, but he’s just going to play. Things will be tough, the ball won’t go exactly where you want it to. “.
McIlroy, meanwhile, started the weekend at 4 below, but a 73 in the third round put him far enough away from the leaders that he needed to minimize his mistakes on Sunday to have a chance. Instead, he fired the first 11 holes in 1, and two birds along the stretch were not enough to put him in contention. Rory, who has been playing one of his best golf courses in years, is still looking for his first major championship since 2014.