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Matt Fitzpatrick set himself up to recreate some magic this past week at The Country Club, site of his 2013 U.S. Amateur Championship win. Staying in the same room of the same house for the 2022 U.S. Open as he did nine years ago, the 27-year-old Englishman once again leaves Brookline, Mass., with the trophy – his first on the PGA Tour and first in a major championship.
“The feeling’s out of this world,” said Fitzpatrick, who broke through for his maiden PGA Tour title in his 106th career start and moved from No. 18 to No. 10 in the Official World Golf Rankings. “It is so cliche, but it’s stuff you dream of as a kid. To achieve it, I can retire a happy man tomorrow.”
His first congratulatory phone call on the 18th green came from none other than Hall of Famer and 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus, with whom Fitzpatrick now shares the distinction of being the only male golfers to win the USGA’s two oldest championships at the same venue. Nicklaus accomplished the feat at Pebble Beach Golf Links, winning the second of his two U.S. Am titles there in 1961 and capturing his third of four U.S. Open wins at Pebble in 1972.
“Any time you’re sharing a record with Jack Nicklaus, it’s unbelievable,” said Fitzpatrick, who carded a 2-under 68 Sunday to finish at 6-under 274, one stroke ahead of world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris, who was runner-up in his second straight major. “So for me to have that as well is incredible. He called me up down there just at the presentation to congratulate me. Coming from someone like that, it means the world.”
Fitzpatrick, a seven-time winner on the DP World Tour, came into the week listed at +2500 via PointsBet Sportsbook, behind betting favorite and recent RBC Canadian Open winner Rory McIlroy at +1000. But the writing was on the wall, so to speak, as the Englishman also came into the week as the only player in the field in the top 25 on Tour in four “Strokes Gained” categories: Off the Tee (10th), Approach (25th), Around the Green (18th) and Putting (22nd).
The results were trending in the right direction for Fitzpatrick as well: Prior to Brookline, he had posted 17 top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour since the start of the 2019-20 season, the most of any player on the PGA Tour without a victory. On the season, he had made 12 cuts in 15 starts with seven top 10s, including three in his last four starts. He’d also had positive results in previous U.S. Opens, where he had made seven cuts in eight starts with previous best finishes of T-12 in 2018 and 2019.
“I love playing this golf course,” said Fitzpatrick, who’s made seven cuts in eight U.S. Open starts with previous best finishes of T-12 in 2018 and 2019 “It suits me so well. It suits my game well. I’ve been playing well for a while, and I think it all just fell into place that this was the place it was going to happen.”
Fitzpatrick became 14th player since 1990 to earn first PGA Tour victory in a major championship and first since Danny Willett at the 2016 Masters. He’s also the 12th player since World War II to earn first Tour title at the U.S. Open and first since Graeme McDowell in 2010. Additionally, he’s the 13th male player in history to win the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open titles and the first to accomplish the feat since Bryson DeChambeau (2015 U.S. Amateur, 2020 U.S. Open).
Last five players to earn first PGA Tour victory at major championship:
- Danny Willett, 2016 Masters Tournament
- Charl Schwartzel, 2011 Masters Tournament
- Martin Kaymer, 2010 PGA Championship
- Louis Oosthuizen, 2010 Open Championship
- Graeme McDowell, 2010 U.S. Open
Last five players to earn first PGA Tour victory at U.S. Open:
- Graeme McDowell, 2010
- Angel Cabrera, 2007
- Michael Campbell, 2005
- Retief Goosen, 2001
- Ernie Els, 1994
Sunday’s result marked another near miss for Zalatoris (+2500), who shot 69 on Sunday to finish at 5-under 275 for his second straight runner-up result in a major after losing to Justin Thomas at the PGA Championship in May. The 25-year-reigning PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, who notched his sixth top 10 in nine major starts, is still chasing his first Tour win and now has 16 top 10s since the start of the 2019-20 season.
“It stings obviously,” said Zalatoris, who also finished second at the 2021 Masters. “Obviously to have three runner-ups so far in my career in majors -- but keep knocking on that door. We’re obviously doing the right things. I’d pay a lot of money for about an inch and a half, and I’d probably be a three-time major champion at this point. We’ll just keep doing what we’re doing.”
Scheffler (+1300), who was aiming to become just the seventh player in history to win the Masters and U.S. Open in the same year, came close to capturing his fifth title of the season and instead recorded his third runner-up result since November. However, Scheffler did set a new PGA Tour record for most official money earned in a season ($12,896,849).
“I played really good golf,” said Scheffler, who shot a 3-under 67 on Sunday. “I hit a ton of quality shots. I look at those bogeys on 10 and 11 and really didn’t hit a bad shot... The putts were going around the hole instead of in today.”
Rounding out the top five were world No. 13 Hideki Matsuyama, who carded a bogey-free 65 on Sunday to finish solo fourth at 3 under. Tied for fifth at 2 under were Collin Morikawa, who rebounded from a career-high round of 7-over 77 on Saturday with a 4-under 66 on Sunday, and McIlroy (69 on Sunday).
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Players who have won U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open titles:
- Francis Ouimet - 1913 U.S. Open; 1914 & 1931 U.S. Amateur
- Jerome Travers - 1915 U.S. Open; 1907, 1908, 1912 & 1913 U.S. Amateur
- Chick Evans - 1916 U.S. Open; 1916 & 1920 U.S. Amateur
- Bobby Jones - 1923, 1926, 1929 & 1930 U.S. Open; 1925, 1927, 1928 & 1930 U.S. Amateur
- Johnny Goodman - 1933 U.S. Open, 1937 U.S. Amateur
- Lawson Little - 1940 U.S. Open; 1934 & 1935 U.S. Amateur
- Arnold Palmer - 1960 U.S. Open; 1954 U.S. Amateur
- Gene Littler - 1961 U.S. Open; 1953 U.S. Amateur
- Jack Nicklaus* - 1962, 1967, 1972 & 1980 U.S. Open; 1959 & 1961 U.S. Amateur
- Jerry Pate - 1976 U.S. Open; 1974 U.S. Amateur
- Tiger Woods - 200, 2002 & 2008 U.S. Open; 1994, 1995 & 1996 U.S. Amateur
- Bryson DeChambeau - 2020 U.S. Open; 2015 U.S. Amateur
- Matt Fitzpatrick* - 2022 U.S. Open; 2013 U.S. Amateur
*Only players to win U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open titles at same venue
Notes and notable: Matsuyama goes bogey-free Sunday, Vick earns low-amateur honors
- Hideki Matsuyama (opening odds: +4000) was the first player to post a bogey-free round of 65 in the final round of a U.S. Open since Adam Scott in 2015 at Chambers Bay. It vaulted the 2021 Masters champion into solo fourth.
- Defending champion Jon Rahm (+1400), who started the day one stroke off the lead, carded a 74 on Sunday to finish T-12.
- Low-amateur honors went 2021 U.S. Amateur semifinalist and Texas junior Travis Vick, who bested Texas A&M product Sam Bennett by two strokes. Vick posted a final-round 73 for a 72-hole total of 8-over 288. Four amateurs made the cut, with 2021 U.S. Am runner-up Austin Greaser finishing T-61 and 2021 Mid-Amateur champion Stewart Hagestad finishing 64th.
- Three qualifiers – Denny McCarthy, Adam Hadwin and Joel Dahmen – finished among the top 10 and ties and earned exemptions into next year’s U.S. Open at The Los Angeles (Calif.) Country Club’s North Course (June 15-18, 2023). Canada’s Hadwin, who finished T-7 at 1-under 279, was a first alternate and got into the field when Paul Casey withdrew. McCarthy, who made the cut on the number, also finished T-7 while Dahmen finished T-10 at even-par 280.
- Xander Schauffele (+2200), who had not finished worse than a tie for seventh in his first five U.S. Open appearances, saw his streak come to an end with a T-14 finish at Brookline. Harris English (+15000) extended his streak of consecutive cuts made in majors to 15, the longest active streak of any player. Brookline marked just the second start since January for the 32-year-old Harris, who had surgery on Feb. 14 to repair a torn labrum in his left hip. He didn’t play on Tour for three and a half months afterward and returned to action at the Memorial, where he missed the cut. Harris, who’s has never missed the cut in seven U.S. Open starts, finished T-61.
- Sixty-four players – 60 pros and four amateurs – made the 36-hole cut (3-over 143) at Brookline, where 141 pros and 14 amateurs made up the starting field. Among the notable names to miss the cut were world No. 7 Cameron Smith (72-74, +2200), No. 8 Viktor Hovland (70-77, +2800), No. 17 Tony Finau (73-72, +3300), recent Memorial winner Billy Horschel (73-71, +4000) and six-time major winner Phil Mickelson (78-73).
- Also missing the cut was No. 32 Cameron Young (72-72, +4000), who made his first career ace on Tour with a hole-in-one at No. 6 on Friday. Young, who began the day on No. 10, made a quadruple-bogey 8 at No. 3 and was 9-over with five holes to play before going on a tear that fell just short: He made birdie at No. 5, the ace at No. 6, birdies at Nos. 7 and 8 and a par at No. 9 to finish at 4-over and missed the cut by one stroke.
Next up: Travelers Championship
The PGA Tour travels down the East Coast to Cromwell, Conn., for the 70th edition of the Travelers Championship, hosted at TPC River Highlands for the 39th time. Four-time Tour winner Harris English is set to defend his 2021 title, which he won in an eight-hole playoff over Kramer Hickok.
The Travelers marks just the third start since January for the 32-year-old Harris, who had surgery on Feb. 14 to repair a torn labrum in his left hip. He didn’t play on Tour for three and a half months afterward and returned to action at the Memorial, where he missed the cut. Harris recently finished T-61 at the U.S. Open, where he’s never missed the cut in seven starts and notched two top 10s (third in 2021, fourth in 2020).
Also in the Travelers field is world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who finished T-2 at the U.S. Open, and Sam Burns, who’s second in the FedExCup standings and was T-27 at Brookline. Other notable names include 2022 PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas (T-37 at Brookline), 2021 FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay (T-14), Rory McIlroy (T-5) and 2017 Travelers champ Jordan Spieth (T-37), who was a late entry into the field on Friday.
Last year at TPC River Highlands, English – who arrived off a third-place finish at the 2021 U.S. Open – carded a 5-under 65 on the final day, making birdie at the 72nd hole in regulation to finish tied with Hickock at 13-under 267. The two matched pars through seven holes of sudden death before English made birdie from 5 feet on the eighth extra hole to capture his fourth career title and second of the season. Hickok, who missed a 36-footer to extend the playoff, recorded his career-best result on Tour. Marc Leishman finished third, Abraham Ancer was fourth, and Brooks Koepka, Hank Lebioda, Brian Harman and Brice Garnett finished T-5.
How to watch:
Thursday & Friday (June 23-24), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET, Golf Channel
Saturday & Sunday (June 25-26), 1 p.m.-3 p.m. ET, Golf Channel; 3-6 p.m. CBS
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