Matt Fitzpatrick hits and hopes his way into golf’s history books
With the golfing world now at his feet, hanging up his clubs may be a fair way off, writes Ben Burrows
After playing some of the best golf of his career, Matt Fitzpatrick’s most important shot of the week came down to a slice of good fortune.
Paired up in the final group with American Will Zalatoris, Fitzpatrick went toe-to-toe with the world number 12 in a thrilling final round at Brookline to give himself a one-shot advantage going down the last. Then, just what he didn’t want: a pushed final tee shot that found a fairway bunker.
What came next was what Jack Nicklaus – the man Fitzpatrick would go on to emulate as only the second player to win the US Amateur and US Open at the same venue – would later call “one of the great iron shots under pressure I’ve ever seen”.
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