Matt Fitzpatrick, when asked Saturday afternoon if he believes in momentum, thought about his answer out loud.
“It’s funny, I remember having a conversation with (head coach) Phil Kenyon that the effective momentum doesn’t really exist,” he said. “Maybe it’s psychological, right?
“I think that’s the moment, when you feel good with the car, when you feel good with the driver, with your irons, you make a birdie, you hit it close, the next hole, you have the same number you hit, you feel comfortable – that’s the moment.”
This is also.
A six under 65 from Fitzpatrick on Thursday at Harbor Town Golf Links in South Carolina. Then a 63 on Friday. Then a 68 on Saturday. All this followed a runner-up five weeks earlier in the Players Championship and a win a week later in the Players Championship Valspar Championship.
And all this preceded another victory, after one of the blows of the year.
On Sunday, during the final round of RBC inheritanceFitzpatrick kept things going. He rode mo’ powerful. Still, he needed every drop of it. After eight holes, he led by four. But after 17, he led by one, behind Scottie Scheffler birdies the par-5 15th and par-4 16th. Then they tied. On the closing hole, Fitzpatrick bogeyed a poor green chip from the right of the green, while Scheffler bogeyed a chip from nearly the same spot and needed a playoff.
A hole was needed. A shot is your main point.
From the right side of the 18th fairway and 209 yards out, Fitzpatrick hit a 4-iron that just covered the bunker guarding the front of the green and took a few bounces before finishing 13 feet beyond the hole. After Scheffler couldn’t answer — he hit a miserable 6-iron that landed 35 feet off the green, then rose to a foot — Fitzpatrick dropped the birdie putt and the celebrations began.
“To hit the 4-iron that I hit there,” Fitzpatrick said on CBS, “was out of this world.”
Fitzpatrick, after a final-round 70, and Scheffler, after a 67, finished 18-way for the tournament, which was two shots better than Si Woo Kim. The win for Fitzpatrick is his second at Harbor Town, which he said remains one of his favorite courses on tour – and had been a family vacation stop when he was younger. It also gives the Englishman something anyone wants going into the heart of golf’s prime season.
More momentum.
Takeaway
Fitzpatrick beat the world No. 1 in a playoff. Enough said.
Breaking down the leaderboard
– Sunday’s final round begins with Matt Fitzpatrick holding a three-shot lead. Fitzpatrick is 17, Scottie Scheffler is 14 and Brian Harman, Si Woo Kim and Sepp Straka are 13.
– Fitzpatrick passes the 419-yard, par-4 first after hitting his approach shot to 10 feet, and he now leads by four. Fitzpatrick is 18, Scheffler and Kurt Kitayama are 14, and Harman, Kim, Straka, Harman, Rickie Fowler, Harris English, Bud Cauley and Patrick Cantlay are 13.
– Scheffler hits the 549-yard, par-5 second after hitting 2 feet, and he’s three back for the lead. Fitzpatrick is 18, Scheffler is 15 and Kitayama, Harman and Kim are 14.
– Fitzpatrick hits the 459-yard, par-4 third after rolling a 17-footer, and he now leads by four. Fitzpatrick is 19, Kim and Scheffler are 15, and Kitayama and Harman are 14.
– Scheffler hits the 331-yard, par-4 9th after hitting a 5-footer, and he’s three back from the lead. Fitzpatrick is 19, Scheffler is 16 and Kim is 15.
– On the 442-yard, par-4 11th, Fitzpatrick runs into trouble after hitting the left bunker, but he’s able to get up and down and his lead stands at three. Fitzpatrick is 19 and Scheffler and Kim are 16.
– Kim goes to the 577-yard, par-5 15th after hitting a 10-footer, and he’s two back of Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick is 19, Kim is 17 and Scheffler is 16.
– Scheffler drops to 15th after bogeying a 4-footer, and he’s also two behind Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick is 19 and Scheffler and Kim are 17.
– Scheffler tees off at the 418-yard, par-4 16th, and he’s one back of Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick is 19, Scheffler is 18 and Kim is 17
– On the 458-yard, par-4 18th, Fitzpatrick’s drive finds the edge of the waste area on the left side of the hole as Scheffler hits the fairway. On the second shots, Fitzpatrick hits just over the green and to the right of it, then Scheffler hits just a touch short of it. From there, Scheffler bogeys and makes his first tee shot, while Fitzpatrick is just short on his chip and misses a 22-footer for a tie, sending them both into a playoff. Fitzpatrick finishes the final round with a one-under 70 and Scheffler shoots a 67, and both finish at 18-under, while Kim finishes at 16-under.
– On the first playoff hole, again on the 18th, Fitzpatrick’s tee shot finds the left side of the fairway while Scheffler’s tee shot lands in the middle. On the second shot, Fitzpatrick hits one of the best shots you’ll see, launching a 4-iron to 13 feet, while Scheffler’s 6-iron gets caught in the wind and lands about 35 feet short of the green. From there, Scheffler lands to 8 feet, then Fitzpatrick rolls in his birdie putt to win.
The last word
“Just a lot of grit, a lot of grit.” — Fitzpatrick on CBS after his win
