BROOKLINE, Mass. — Matt Fitzpatrick might as well get himself a membership at The Country Club.
Fitzpatrick shot a 2-under par 68 during the final round on Sunday to finish 6-under par 274 and claim the 122nd U.S. Open. Fitzpatrick won the U.S. Amateur at the same historic layout in Brookline nine years ago.
“This week around The Country Club, I’ve won around here before. I love playing this golf course. It suits me so well. It suits my game well,” Fitzpatrick said after his round, the major championship trophy sitting to his right. “I’ve been playing well for a while, and I think it all just fell into place that this was the place it was going to happen.”
Will Zalatoris, who played in the final group with Fitzpatrick, missed a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th hole. It would have forced a playoff after Fitzpatrick tapped in a putt for par. Zalatoris shot a 3-under 67 in the round while a birdie putt at the par-3 11th gave him a two-stroke lead on Fitzpatrick with seven holes to play.
Fitzpatrick owes a majority of his $3.15 million purse to the flat stick. He converted a stunning 48-foot birdie putt on the par-4 13th hole before adding another birdie putt on the par-4 15th. Those were two of Fitzpatrick’s five birdies while the Englishman had three bogies, as well.
But while those putts were pivotal, Fitzpatrick really fended off Zalatoris with his approach shot from the fairway bunker on the 18th hole.
“It’s one of the best shots I ever hit, there’s no doubt about it,” Fitzpatrick said.
Scottie Scheffler put himself in position to win the U.S. Open after four frontside birdies. He took the outright lead at 6-under. Scheffler, however, dropped back with consecutive bogies on the par-4 10th and par-3 11th. The No. 1 golfer in the world finished in a tie for second with Zalatoris at 5-under 275 on the tournament.
Jon Rahm and Keegan Bradley, who teed off in the second to last group, fell down the leaderboard. Rahm shot a 4-over 74 in the final round while Bradley was 3-over through the first three holes on the day. The New England native did bounce back as he carded a 1-over 71 to finish in a tie for seventh at 1-under 279.
