- Matt Fitzpatrick won the 2022 US Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.
- The first major win of Fitzpatrick's career came on the same course he won the US Amateur in 2013.
Matt Fitzpatrick conquered The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, this weekend to win the US Open, the first major victory of his career.
The 27-year-old Englishman had won seven times on the European Tour, but had yet to win a professional event held on US soil. It didn't come easy.
Entering the final round, Fitzpatrick was tied atop the leaderboard with Will Zalatoris. Through the round, the two battled back and forth, putting on a ball-striking clinic for the Boston crowd.
After a string of birdies from Zalatoris in the middle of the round, Fitzpatrick bit back a share of the lead with the help of a monster putt on the 13th green.
—U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 19, 2022
Fitzpatrick would take the solo lead just a few holes later and walked to the 18th tee with a one-stroke advantage over Zalatoris.
In need of one more clean drive to possibly secure his first major win, Fitzpatrick hit one of his worst shots of the day off the tee, finding a fairway bunker and leaving his ball nearly snookered against the ridge of the hazard. With Zalatoris' ball safely in the fairway, it felt for a moment that the entire tournament had shifted on the fortune of two swings.
But to make up for one of his worst shots of the day, Fitzpatrick followed it up with his best. Choking up on an iron out of the bunker, Fitzpatrick fired a dart into the center of the green, leaving him with a putt to win the tournament.
It doesn't get better than this.
—Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) June 19, 2022
Fitzpatrick wouldn't sink his birdie attempt to win the tournament, but after Zalatoris failed to make a birdie of his own, par was good enough to take home the trophy.
Fitzpatrick's iron play was unreal all weekend, but no day was more impressive than his final round, where he hit 17 of 18 greens in regulation.
"I had so much patience today," Fitzpatrick said after the round. "I said to [caddie Billy Foster] 'If I can hit 18 greens today, I like to think I've got a good chance,' and near as damn I did it."
While it was Fitzpatrick's first win as a professional on US soil, it wasn't actually his first win at The Country Club. Back in 2013, Fitzpatrick won the US Amateur on the very same course.
On Sunday, he was able to do it again, this time taking home a $3.15 million check in the process.