It was a putt to send echoes around Royal Portrush, from all of 23ft for a precious par. Matt Fitzpatrick poured it in and avoided one final setback to show the contrasting nature of what an Open Championship test requires. Yet barely a few minutes later, the scale of the task for Fitzpatrick and the rest of the field became ominously clear.
Fitzpatrick is already a major champion, so he knows the merit of a shot-saver, as much as the spectacular strokes that lay the table before, notably those four consecutive birdies from 10-13 when he held a mesmeric control over that little white ball. But that putt only allowed him to cling onto the heels of Scottie Scheffler. A telling reminder of what he’ll need to trade blows with the world’s best player over the next 36 holes.
