Scottie Scheffler is used to being followed in tournaments. Normally, it’s Scheffler out front while his PGA Tour teammates play pour out for his ruthlessnessrecovery ability, behavior, control of club leaders and course management. More often than not, Scottie Scheffler is hunted, with those behind him admiring him how the World No. 1 got past them.
This week in RBC inheritancethe script is flipped.
Scheffler started Saturday at Harbor city seven shots behind 36-hole leader Matt Fitzpatrick, but quickly closed the gap as he carded a 5-under 31 to enter the contest. When Fitzpatrick stumbled early in his round, Scheffler suddenly had a share of the lead as he reached the latter part of his third round. But then Fitzpatrick, who won the Valspar last month and finished runner-up in the Playersregained the lead with birdies on Nos. 9 and 12 to regain the lead. Scheffler closed with birdies on 16 and 18 to shoot a 7-under 64 and come home at 14 under.
When Scheffler signed his card, he was hot on Fitzpatrick’s heels, then the 2022 US Open champion made 14 birdies and bogeyed for eagle at 15 to extend his lead to three.
As Scheffler waltzed to a victory last summer at the Open, Fitzpatrick stood in front of the media and noted how Scheffler was “in a different class” than everyone else. On Saturday, as Fitzpatrick polished off a 3-under 68, Scheffler took on an unusual role — that of a hunter who explains what makes a great leader.
“Fitzy is a guy that I think — I admire him because he works really hard,” Scheffler said after a sunny day on Hilton Head. “He’s a guy that I always see doing things to play well. He’s a guy that really gets into his stats. He’s a guy that’s going to check every box that he can in order to come out here and play well.
“He’s a guy that you always look at and he’s improved throughout his career and he’s made some changes to get better. You look at him when he first came out, he was a lot slower off the top than he is now. He’s got a lot of speed. He doesn’t use it on every single shot, but he uses it when it’s needed. Not only is he a very hardworking player, but I think he’s a very smart player.”
Fitzpatrick increased his clubhead speed by more than five miles per hour from 2019 to 2022. He now swings it in the 118-122 range, where it was previously in the 112 mph zone. In 2019, Fitzpatrick was ranked 59th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee. He moved up to No. 10 during the 2022 season when he won the US Open. His game dipped in 2024, but Fitzpatrick is now back in the top 20 in SG: Off the Tee and ranked 7th in the world. Those gains and his current resurgence are the product of an analytical approach that is Fitzpatrick’s foundation.
Viktor Hovland has seen how Fitzpatrick goes about his business and how a unique process has helped him reclaim his place as one of the best players in the world. It might not work for everyone, but Fitzpatrick doesn’t let those outside his bubble influence his approach.
“He works so hard,” Hovland said Friday. “He’s extremely methodical. I think it’s really cool to see other guys, they have their own thing. They have their own way of getting better, and he goes all in. He doesn’t really care what other people say; he believes in what he’s doing.
“You look at his career, he just keeps winning tournaments and keeps getting better. If there’s a flaw in his game, he addresses it and gets better, and I find that very admirable.”
Fitzpatrick will take a three-shot lead over Scheffler Sunday into his favorite tournament on the PGA Tour schedule, one he won in a playoff against Jordan Spieth in 2023. There was a pro-Spieth crowd that day, and Fitzpatrick expects a similar atmosphere Sunday as Scheffler tries to find it. “As long as they don’t yell at my backhand, then they can do whatever they want,” Fitzpatrick said Saturday.
He knows a three-shot lead could disappear quickly Sunday against Scheffler, who is omnipresent on the leaderboard. While Fitzpatrick hasn’t lived in contention week in and week out like Scheffler, he has worked to strengthen his game in the bullpen.
Last year, he arrived in Harbor Town with his game in disarray. A month later, he was competing in the PGA. He paled. it competed in the Openwith which Scheffler ran away. Then, he won the DP World Tour Championship, was one shot away from a playoff at the Players and won the Valspar.
“Maybe it’s different for Scottie and Rory, who are in these positions many weeks of the year and competing and in the mix,” Fitzpatrick said of the nerves on Sunday. “But the more you do it, I wouldn’t say it gets easier, but it can feel a little better, more comfortable.”
Matt Fitzpatrick is 18 holes away from his second win of the season and third worldwide win since November. He knows it won’t be easy to contain Scheffler. But Matt Fitzpatrick is up for the hard work ahead of Sunday; is what brought him back to this point.
;)
