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HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Matt Fitzpatrick made it exciting. One hole after blowing victory with a chunky chip, he whistled a 4-iron form 204 yards to 13 feet at Harbour Town Golf Links on Sunday and poured in the putt to beat Scottie Scheffler in a sudden-death playoff.
Fitzpatrick’s love of the course that has hosted the RBC Heritage since 1969 knows no bounds. This is the resort that his family vacationed at when he was a kid, and that since 2016 he has carried a candy-cane-striped headcover of the iconic lighthouse standing sentinel in Calbogue Sound. For the second time, Fitzpatrick has celebrated at his happy place as a champion in the famous tartan jacket after shooting 1-under 70 on Sunday to hold off the world No. 1.
Fitzpatrick, who won the tournament in 2023, became the 11th player to win the event multiple times, and joins Chris Gotterup as the second player this season to win multiple events on the PGA Tour.
Fitzpatrick, the 2022 U.S. Open champion, did most of his damage before the weekend, storming in front with rounds of 65-63 and stood seven strokes ahead of Scheffler. But he stumbled early in the third round and for a brief moment Scheffler had caught him. But Fitzpatrick made a birdie at 14 and eagle at 15 on Saturday to claim a three-stroke lead.
In the final round, Fitzpatrick, 31, started quickly with a 10-foot birdie putt at the first. He also canned a 17-foot birdie putt at the third to stretch the lead to as many as four but missed birdie opportunities at the two easiest holes on the course, the par 5 second, where he took three putts and missed from 8 feet at the par 5 fifth. Scheffler trimmed the lead back to three with a birdie at nine.
It stayed that way as Fitzpatrick rescued pars, none bigger than the 20-foot par putt that he sank at No. 11. Fitzpatrick walked it in, raising his putter five feet before it disappeared in the hole.
Scheffler would not go quietly, making back-to-back birdies at Nos. 15 and 16 to close to within one stroke. It looked as if for the second straight week, Scheffler's rally on the weekend would fall one short. But Fitzpatrick chunked a chip from right of the 18th green and missed a 20-foot par putt. Tied with a 72-hole total of 18-under 266, they returned to 18, where Fitzpatrick delivered the knockout punch and his fourth career Tour title.
Fitzpatrick figures his family came three or four times to Hilton Head Island from their home in England on vacation beginning when he was nine or 10 years old but only played the golf course twice with his father, Russ, who said he played more tennis than golf at the Stan Smith Academy, and noted that Matt could really play tennis too. A couple of times the Fitzpatricks planned their vacation around the annual Tour stop.
“I remember I think I ended up getting a golf ball from Boo Weekley,” Matt said. “Just really, really good memories.”
Another memorable week for the Fitzpatricks at Harbour Town and another plaid jacket for Fitzpatrick.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Matt Fitzpatrick wins RBC Heritage again in dramatic fashion over Scheffler
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Fitzpatrick’s love of the course that has hosted the RBC Heritage since 1969 knows no bounds. This is the resort that his family vacationed at when he was a kid, and that since 2016 he has carried a candy-cane-striped headcover of the iconic lighthouse standing sentinel in Calbogue Sound. For the second time, Fitzpatrick has celebrated at his happy place as a champion in the famous tartan jacket after shooting 1-under 70 on Sunday to hold off the world No. 1.
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Fitzpatrick, who won the tournament in 2023, became the 11th player to win the event multiple times, and joins Chris Gotterup as the second player this season to win multiple events on the PGA Tour.
Fitzpatrick, the 2022 U.S. Open champion, did most of his damage before the weekend, storming in front with rounds of 65-63 and stood seven strokes ahead of Scheffler. But he stumbled early in the third round and for a brief moment Scheffler had caught him. But Fitzpatrick made a birdie at 14 and eagle at 15 on Saturday to claim a three-stroke lead.
In the final round, Fitzpatrick, 31, started quickly with a 10-foot birdie putt at the first. He also canned a 17-foot birdie putt at the third to stretch the lead to as many as four but missed birdie opportunities at the two easiest holes on the course, the par 5 second, where he took three putts and missed from 8 feet at the par 5 fifth. Scheffler trimmed the lead back to three with a birdie at nine.
It stayed that way as Fitzpatrick rescued pars, none bigger than the 20-foot par putt that he sank at No. 11. Fitzpatrick walked it in, raising his putter five feet before it disappeared in the hole.
Scheffler would not go quietly, making back-to-back birdies at Nos. 15 and 16 to close to within one stroke. It looked as if for the second straight week, Scheffler's rally on the weekend would fall one short. But Fitzpatrick chunked a chip from right of the 18th green and missed a 20-foot par putt. Tied with a 72-hole total of 18-under 266, they returned to 18, where Fitzpatrick delivered the knockout punch and his fourth career Tour title.
Fitzpatrick figures his family came three or four times to Hilton Head Island from their home in England on vacation beginning when he was nine or 10 years old but only played the golf course twice with his father, Russ, who said he played more tennis than golf at the Stan Smith Academy, and noted that Matt could really play tennis too. A couple of times the Fitzpatricks planned their vacation around the annual Tour stop.
“I remember I think I ended up getting a golf ball from Boo Weekley,” Matt said. “Just really, really good memories.”
Another memorable week for the Fitzpatricks at Harbour Town and another plaid jacket for Fitzpatrick.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Matt Fitzpatrick wins RBC Heritage again in dramatic fashion over Scheffler
Continue reading...
