Matt Fitzpatrick came into the week at The Country Club with a bit of an advantage. The Englishman came into the major won eight times on the European Tour but had never done so on American soil, and he righted that wrong by following up victory in the 2013 US Amateur at the very same course to win the US Open on Sunday after a gutsy 18th hole ensured him the victory.
With his ball in a bunker and a one-shot lead, he looked like he was surely headed for a playoff- or worse- until he hit one of the best bunker shots you’ll ever see to get it close to the hole and eventually two-putt for par. Will Zalatoris, who he went back and forth with all day, missed his chance to make a birdie and tie on the final hole, preventing the aforementioned playoff and handing Fitzpatrick the win that saw him join a very rare club. Only he and Jack Nicklaus have now won both the US Amateur and the US Open at the same course. Oh, and he also took home just over $3 million in earnings for his play, too, so that’s not a bad way to finish a week, is it? Fitzpatrick, -6 overall for the championship, was followed in the finishing order by Zalatoris and Scottie Scheffler at -5 while Hideki Matsuyama finished at -3 in fourth and Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa split the honor of coming home in fifth.
