MATT FITZPATRICK completed the dream double, as he battled to a glorious US Open triumph after a breathlessly exciting final round at Brookline.
Fitzpatrick’s return to the scene of his historic 2013 US Amateur victory – as the first English golfer to win that event for 102 years – brought him an even more glorious prize.
World No 1 Scottie Scheffler and Major Championship specialist Will Zalatoris had no answer as the player regarded as the finest putter in Europe simply kept finding the hole at the crucial times, to clinch a one shot victory at six under par.
His fifty footer for birdie at the 13th, followed by a twenty footer at the fearsome 527 yards 15th, were the key moments. alon g with a crtucial par save from a fairway bunker at the last.
Fitzpatrick triumphed in front of the Boston family he stayed with in 2013, and his own family, including younger brother Alex who caddied for him nine years ago.
Alex led the celebrations as his big brother’s first win as a professional on US soil – after seven victories in Europe – also brought the 27 year old Sheffield golfer his first Major triumph.
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And he will now join Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win the US Amateur and US Open titles on the same course.
Nicklaus won both at Pebble Beach, and putting his name in the record books alongside the greatest player the game has seen is the icing on the cake for Fitzpatrick.
A course infamous as the setting for the Battle of Brookline at the 1999 Ryder Cup will now also be remembered for the Bottle of Brookline, as Fitzpatrick took everything Scheffler and Zalatoris could throw at him.
It was a final round worthy of a great championship, with the lead constantly changing hands. But it always looked like Fitzpatyrick was more composed – and confident – than his American opponents.
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Scheffler famously questioned whether he could win the Masters in a breakfast heart-to-heart with his wife, before he pulled on the green jacket a couple of months ago.
There seemed to be plenty of self doubt here from the world No1. Every time he hit the front he seemed to be looking anxiously over his shoulder, instead of trying to pull away.
Six under par was clearly nose bleed territory for Scheffler at Brookline.
He got to that mark in outrageous fashion by holing a 106 yards wedge shot for an eagle at the eighth in round three – only to drop five shots in a horror four hole run from the eleventh.
This time he showed all the class you expect from a world No1 with birdies at four of the first six holes to join Fitzpatrick at six under.
With Zalatoris bogeying two of the first three, the leaders were suddenly four clear of the pack, and it looked like it might develop into a two man race.
Or it did, until Scheffler stumbled to back-to-back bogeys at ten and eleven, before missing a short birdie putt at the long 14th.
Zalatoris and the man who denied him the Masters title last year, the fast-finishing Hideki Matsuyama, also had other ideas about leaving Fitzpatrick and Scheffler to slug it out.
Zalatoris recovered from that horror start with four bogeys in six holes from the sixth
That was good enough to propel him into a two shot lead on the ever-changing leaderboard, as his English playing partner hit the skids with two three-putt bogeys.
Matsuyama set the clubhouse target at three under par after shooting the best round of the week, a stunning five under par 65. But it always looked like that equalled the best round of the week
Jon Rahm’s chances of becoming only the third player to successfully defend the US Open title had evaporated before he even completed the front nine.
The world No 2 started off just one shot off the lead at three under par.
But he bogeyed two of the easiest holes on the course – the 301 yards par four fifth and the par five eighth – and never looked like finding the birdies that would re-ignite his challenge.
The loud shout of ‘Not today Jon’ when he dropped another at the tenth would normally have provoked at least a glare from the Spaniard. This time he merely nodded his head in agreement.
Rory McIlroy’s front nine was a lot more eventful. Say what you like about his eight year drought in the Majors, but there is rarely a dull moment when he is in the hunt.
With a three shot deficit to make up, he needed early birdies – and picked up three of them in the first six holes.
The problem was he followed every birdie with a bogey. And when a poor tee shot at the 108 yards 11th dropped him to one over for the round, it was another case of close, but still no cigar.
With the pressure off, McIlroy improved his position with birdies at 14 and 15, climbing into a share of fifth – where have we seen that before?
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