News All Articles
Brookline brilliance: Fitzpatrick's journey from US Amateur to U.S. Open Champion
News

Brookline brilliance: Fitzpatrick's journey from US Amateur to U.S. Open Champion

No matter what else he goes on to achieve in his career, The Country Club, Brookline will always hold a special place in the heart of golf's latest Major Champion Matt Fitzpatrick.

Fitz

The Sheffield-born star was just 18 years old when he announced his immense promise to the world with victory at Brookline in 2013 to become the first English winner of the US Amateur Championship since 1911.

Nine years later he ticked off another huge career goal at the same venue, winning the 122nd U.S. Open Championship by one shot to claim his first Major Championship title in dramatic circumstances.

One thing that remained consistent across both triumphs was where Fitzpatrick stayed, as he once again enjoyed the hospitality of the family who hosted him in 2013.

During those intervening years, Fitzpatrick made the seamless transition from being the world's top amateur player to a prolific winner on the DP World Tour and a Ryder Cup star, creating some wonderful memories along the way.

Here is a closer look at the career of the 2022 U.S. Open Champion.

Fitz

After enjoying great success as an amateur, Fitzpatrick entered the paid ranks in 2014 and earned his DP World Tour playing privileges at the Qualifying School later that year.

It was not long before he was challenging for silverware, securing three top tens before finishing second to fellow Yorkshireman Danny Willett at the 2015 Omega European Masters in July.

He continued to go from strength to strength for the rest of the year, clinching his maiden DP World Tour crown at the British Masters in October and finishing in a tie for fourth at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.

Fitzpatrick showed he was ready to shine on the biggest stages in golf when he finished in a tie for seventh at the 2016 Masters Tournament.

He then won the Nordea Masters two months later for title number two, before making his Ryder Cup debut as Europe suffered defeat at Hazeltine in the autumn.

But he bounced back from that disappointment with another big title, holing a nerve-shredding putt at the 18th to win the 2016 DP World Tour Championship, Dubai by a single shot, and in doing so prove that he thrives in high-pressure situations.

Crans

The following season saw Fitzpatrick crowned 'King of the Mountains' at Crans Montana as he got his hands on the Omega European Masters trophy which had eluded him two years earlier.

And he enjoyed a strong end to 2017 from that point on, finishing no worse than 15th in the final seven events of the season.

The successful defence of his Omega European Masters crown followed in 2018 as Fitzpatrick became a five-time winner with play-off victory over Lucas Bjerregaard.

Although he was not able to add another victory to his CV in 2019, that season yielded four runner-up finishes as Fitzpatrick produced some of his very best golf.

Fitz

He began the 2020 season with a runner-up finish at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA in January and finished it with his second DP World Tour Championship, Dubai title and first Rolex Series win.

As well as winning title number seven at the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, 2021 saw Fitzpatrick claim runner-up spots at the abrdn Scottish Open and DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.

There were mixed emotions for Fitzpatrick at the 2022 US PGA Championship last month, as he played his way into the final group ahead of Sunday's final round, only to finish in a tie for fifth - two shots outside the play-off at Southern Hills.

But the stars aligned on his return to Brookline for the third Major of the year, as he took a share of the lead into the final round and produced a closing 68 to beat Will Zalatoris and Scottie Scheffler to the title.

Read next