He may be the newly crowned US Open champion, but one man not losing sight of perspective today is Matt Fitzpatrick.
In a final round to linger long in the memory at Brookline, Fitzpatrick, 27, went down the last one shot ahead of American Will Zalatoris. However, his chances of a first major title seemingly hung in the balance after he drove into a fairway bunker.
With Zalatoris well placed, the Englishman knew he could ill-afford a dropped shot, so bravely opted to go straight for the green from the sand. He duly produced one of the most iconic shots in US Open history, landing his ball just 15 feet from the flag.
Although his birdie effort slipped by, Zalatoris was also off-target with his 12-footer as Fitzpatrick became only the third player from his country to win the coveted title since 1924. He also became the first English player to win a major of any kind since Danny Willett's triumph at The Masters in 2016.
The Sheffield-born golfer, who last September played in his first Ryder Cup, also pocketed £2.5million for his win. And he woke up on Monday morning to find himself ranked at a new career high of No 10 in the world.
But just three months before the tournament at The Country Club, Fitzpatrick altered his outlook on life. Amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he made a phone call to ex-girlfriend Deniz Khazaniuk.
The 27-year-old tennis player was born in Israel after her family immigrated from Ukraine, and Fitzpatrick was anxious to check on her welfare. At the time he was out in America, with his situation a stark contrast to what Khazaniuk was going though
"She was telling me about her gran who had a couple of strokes recently and can hardly walk, so she can't go anywhere," he told MailSport. "Then she told me about her uncle who had just packed his bags and was off to fight tomorrow.
"I was sitting there in Florida ready to practise and it hit me, the contrast between the fact he might never come back and what I do." And Fitzpatrick, who in 2013 won the US Amateur title, admitted the conversation changed his own mentality moving forward.
"I'd already decided to be a little easier on myself this year and appreciate all that I have but that phone call just emphasised I don't want to be miserable for the rest of my life worrying about winning golf tournaments," he added. "Sure, I want to win but there has to be a balance."
Khazaniuk's family are originally from Lviv, a city that has frequently been attacked by Russian personnel since the war began on February 24. At 22, she won the Israeli Singles Championship, and has represented Israel in the Fed Cup event.
She has 21 ITF titles to her name, and was ranked inside the world's top 200 back in 2018. That year, she made her sole Grand Slam appearance in the doubles event at the US Open.
