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While Matt Fitzpatrick celebrated emphatically with his family after sealing his first major championship victory at the U.S. Open Sunday, runner-up Will Zalatoris could do nothing but watch.
For the second major tournament in a row, the 25-year-old American came up just short of a career-defining win. A 14-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole that would’ve sent him to a playoff with Fitzpatrick rolled short-left of the cup, giving the Englishman a well-deserved victory and Zalatoris yet another second-place finish.
Despite narrowly missing out on a win Sunday, Zalatoris was a class act following the final hole. According to Dan Rapaport of Golf Digest, one of the first things he did after missing the birdie putt was approach Fitzpatrick’s parents and give them a kind message.
“If I had to lose to anyone, I’m happy it was your son,” he said to the Fitzpatricks, per Rapaport.
Admiration between Zalatoris and the Fitzpatrick family was abundant on Sunday at the Country Club in Brookline, Mass. Before fully breaking out into celebration, Fitzpatrick’s brother Alex trotted over to Zalatoris to congratulate him on a strong weekend.
Zalatoris will leave Brookline with plenty to be happy about, but still without a victory in a major tournament. He’s now finished in the top 10 in six of his nine major starts, including three second-place finishes.
He’ll have one final chance for a major championship victory this year at the Open Championship at St. Andrews next month.
