BROOKLINE, Mass. — Nobody in the field of the 122nd U.S. Open had as much experience on The Country Club layout since Gil Hanse’s redesign than Matt Fitzpatrick.
He played seven rounds on the fabled track in 2013 on his way to winning the U.S. Amateur and returned multiple times to visit. The Sheffield, England, native felt that local knowledge gave him an advantage over everyone else.
On Sunday, he became Brookline’s favorite son by making a par from the fairway bunker on the 72nd hole to win his first major at 6-under-par 274 following a 68. He was one shot better than Will Zalatoris (69) and Masters champion Scottie Scheffler (67).
“The expectations were for me to play well, but I feel like having won the U.S. Amateur here as well, I just felt so comfortable around this place,” Fitzpatrick said. “Know where to hit it; know where to miss it.
“Yeah, just happy to be unbeaten around this place.”
He joins Jack Nicklaus as the only men to win the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open at the same place. The Golden Bear won the 1961 Amateur and 1972 Open at Pebble Beach and placed a phone call to Fitzpatrick following the trophy presentation.
Fitzpatrick grabbed the lead for good on the 15th hole. Following a wait of nearly 10 minutes at the tee, both Fitzpatrick and Zalatoris drove their ball into the right rough. Fitzpatrick was wild enough to find a trampled down area and hit the green with a 5-iron from 230 yards. He proceeded to roll in the 19-foot birdie putt to get to 6 under, while Zalatoris was unable to get up and down from the front left bunker and dropped to 4 under.
The two-shot lead did not last long as Scheffler, playing two groups ahead, moved to 5 under with a birdie at the 17th hole, one which factored in so heavily in the three previous Opens at The Country Club. Zalatoris, who has only reinforced the belief that his time will eventually come, delivered a 6-iron to within 6 feet at the 16th to get to 5 under.
There was one more bid for 71st-hole magic, but Zalatoris’ 12-foot bid did not have enough pace to hold the line and fell off to the left.
Zalatoris piped his drive at the last and had just 128 yards in. Fitzpatrick, who hit 11 of the first 13 fairways, put a 3-wood into the front left fairway bunker.
He was 156 yards from the championship, but with a significant lip in front of him, the thoughts of a fourth playoff in as many Opens filled the air around TCC’s stately clubhouse.
He and veteran caddie Billy Foster went with a 9-iron. The lip proved to be no obstacle, the shot finding the middle of the green, 19 feet above the hole.
“Never a doubt,” said Foster, who finally got a major after so many chances over the years, of the club choice.
Said Fitzpatrick, “One good thing is the way the lie was is it forced me not to go towards the pin. It kind of forced me to go well left anyway. If I had to hit straight, it was kind of a chip across the green or whatever it was.
“But I just feel like I’m a fast player, and when I look back, it just all happened so fast. It was like just kind of natural ability took over and just played the shot that was at hand, if I was a junior trying to hit it close.
“And I didn’t mean to do that, but I just committed to the shot we kind of planned and came out of it squeezy fade. Yeah, it was amazing.”
He also described it as the perfect number.
Fitzpatrick nearly rolled in the putt, but it was an all-world par considering the enormity of the situation.
But it left the door open for Zalatoris to force a playoff, and it was on a similar line as Fitzpatrick. The 15-footer was moving down the hill, slightly left-to-right, but stayed just outside the left edge, securing the victory for the Englishman and leaving Zalatoris shocked.
“With about six feet to go, I thought I had it,” said Zalatoris, who at just 25 years old has been a runner-up in three majors.
Scheffler got hot early, making four birdies over the first six holes to get to 6 under, briefly taking the solo lead.
His round sputtered from there though, he had his third into the par-5 eighth roll back down the hill leading up to the green, resulting in a par. His second shot at the par-4 10th went through the green and into the back bunker, leading to a bogey. Scheffler found trouble at the short 11th once again, three-putting.
“The putts were going around the hole instead of in today,” the Masters champion said.
The duel between Fitzpatrick and Zalatoris picked up on No. 11 as Zalatoris moved to 6 under with a birdie from 18 feet and Fitzpatrick three-putted from nearly the identical spot to drop to 4 under.
Zalatoris dropped a shot on the 12th, paying the price for a wild drive to the right. He did the same on the 13th, but managed to save par. But Fitzpatrick pulled even by rolling in a 48-foot putt from the left edge of the green to pull back into a share of the lead.
But on this day, The Country Club belonged to Fitzpatrick, who became the first Englishman to win the U.S. Open since Justin Rose in 2013 at Merion.
Hideki Matsuyama had the best round of the tournament with a 65 on Sunday to finish fourth at 3 under. Rory McIlroy (69) and Collin Morikawa (66) tied for fifth at 2 under.
Keegan Bradley, who was trying to be the first New Englander to win the Open since Julius Boros did in 1963 at The Country Club, made a bogey on the first three holes before turning in a 71 to tie for seventh with Adam Hadwin (71) and Denny McCarthy (68).
