Matt Fitzpatrick folds Scottie Scheffler in playoffs

Matt Fitzpatrick claimed another playoff victory at RBC Heritage, beating world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. On Sunday, the Englishman again found himself in the playoff against the favorite, backed by a large and noisy crowd. It was a scene that was very reminiscent of what happened three years ago against Jordan Spieth, even for the decisive shot on the 18th.

Fitzpatrick froze the crowd with a 4-iron from 187 yards (slightly left of the ideal line, but still spectacular): the ball went over the bunker, past the flag and stopped about 4 yards from the hole, leaving him with a birdie that later proved decisive. The playoff was once again played on the 18th (par 4), confirmed again on Sunday as the most challenging hole on the course.

Scheffler (who was three strokes down with four holes to play) forced the playoff thanks to two consecutive birdies in the final round, closing with an excellent 67 (-4). He also took advantage of a mistake by Fitzpatrick: inaccurate chip from the rough to the right of the green and missed 20-foot putt for par, the only bogey of his round (70, -1).

The crowd (which had invaded the fairway of the 18th) chanted choruses of “U-S-A! U-S-A!” before getting back behind the ropes and witnessing Fitzpatrick’s upwind shot and Scheffler’s mistake, which sent the ball more than 30 yards from the hole with a 6-iron. The Texan recovered with a great pitch to 2.5 meters, but it was not enough: Fitzpatrick bagged the decisive birdie.