HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC — Matt Fitzpatrick was in the playoffs in Harbor Town against America’s Sunday favorite, facing a large and loud cheering gallery chanting for his opponent — Scottie Scheffler this time, the No. 1 player in the world.
It was almost a repeat from three years ago, right down to the shot on the 18th hole that Fitzpatrick said was “out of this world.”
The 31-year-old Englishman silenced the crowd with a 4-iron from 204 yards, a little short of his target but excellent. It covered the bunker, rolled past the pin and landed 13 feet to birdie Scheffler and win the RBC Heritage for the second time.
The finish was almost a repeat of when Fitzpatrick beat another American favorite, Jordan Spieth, in the RBC Heritage tournament three years ago. Meanwhile, Fitzpatrick hit a 9-iron with the wind at his back that came within inches of the winning birdie.
This time, the closing hole was brutal, the toughest in Harbor Town on Sunday.
“It was funny that the playoff would continue on 18. I thought it would be difficult to separate because it’s a tough hole,” Fitzpatrick said. “To do it the way I did was special.”
Scheffler, trailing by three shots with four holes to play, forced a playoff with late birdies for a 4-under 67 and some help from Fitzpatrick, who hit a bad chip from the right of the green and missed a 20-foot par putt for his only bogey of the day and a 70.
A gallery allowed into the fairway short of the 18th green in regulation filled Calibogue Sound with endless chants of “USA! USA!” Fans went back outside to watch Fitzpatrick hit the 4-bell in the high winds and into the pin above the dugout.
Scheffler followed with his worst swing of the day, a 6-iron that he blew so badly that it landed 37 yards short of the hole. He hit a great pitch to 8 feet, but didn’t need to putt when Fitzpatrick made the winning putt.
“A lot of grit,” Fitzpatrick said of holding on for the win.
His reaction was muted, gently putting a finger to his right ear in a friendly response to the crowd. Fitzpatrick knew what he was up against, having been through a similar situation when Cameron Young beat him at The Players Championship.
“I didn’t get out of line because nobody was yelling about going back or anything like that, which was good,” Fitzpatrick said. “I’m all for it. I love the people … they support Scottie. You want golf to be in the spirit. I get paid a lot of money to be out there in front of those crowds. To sing for you every week, it’s so much fun.
“However,” he said with a smile, “there’s no better feeling than coming out on top against that.”
It was the second straight runner-up finish for Scheffler, who came within 12 shots after going into the weekend to finish off Rory McIlroy at the Masters. This time, he was seven years behind Fitzpatrick through 36 holes and finished 64-67.
“Both weeks, I put myself behind the 8-ball going into the weekend and had great Saturdays and Sundays to get into contention,” Scheffler said. “On Sunday, it’s a shot here or there that makes the difference. This was one of those weeks when Fitzy needed something to happen, he did something.
“Definitely got the win, and you just played good golf.”
It was great theater, but in the end.
Fitzpatrick started with a three-over lead and bogeyed two of the opening three holes, never letting anyone get within three shots of the round until Si Woo Kim drove the par-5 15th to get within two shots. Scheffler came up late with an up-and-down from the bunker for birdie on the 15th, and a bold drive and approach to 10 feet for birdie on the 16th.
That cut the lead to one shot, and both players missed the right 18th green. Scheffler capped off a perfect day of shots — 8 of 8 — with a chip a foot from the hole. Fitzpatrick faced his first chip in the hole and came up just short.
Fitzpatrick and Scheffler finished at 18-under 268. Kim closed with a 68 to finish alone in third place, his fourth top 10 of the year.
Fitzpatrick won for the second time last month. After finishing second at The Players, he won the Valspar Championship on the tough Innisbrook track. He has won nearly $8.3 million in his last four tournaments.
The victory, his fourth on the PGA Tour and 13th worldwide, moves him to a career high of No. 3 in the world rankings.
Fitzpatrick’s family used to take vacations to Hilton Head when he was a boy, for golf and tennis and beaches. He came to this tournament and thought it would be fun to win it one day, and now he has done it twice.
“It means the world,” he said. “This is the tournament that I wanted to win growing up and go through all the big tournaments before I really understood the game. To walk with Scottie and win it is important.”
