Matt Fitzpatrick’s Harbour Town success a big boost to European Ryder Cup hopes

Matt Fitzpatrick didn’t just keep his fingers pressed on the money machine in executing a brilliant playoff win over Jordan Spieth in the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Links, adding some $3.6 million – less the dividend to his caddie Billy Foster – to his bank balance: the Englishman’s success also moved him into an automatic qualifying place on the updated Europe Ryder Cup standings.

The US Open champion closed out the deal at Hilton Head in magnificent style, hitting a 9-iron approach from 186 yards to inside of six inches on the 18th, the third hole of sudden death, to claim the big-money, designated event on the PGA Tour. “It was a perfect number for us, and I just hit a great shot,” said Fitzpatrick.

The win moved him into one of the Ryder Cup spots off the world rankings, although there remains some way to go yet before that qualifying process for Rome finishes.

Yet, it was the manner of Fitzpatrick’s finish which demonstrated a match play psyche that, bizarrely, has been absent in his two previous Ryder Cup appearances in 2016 and 2021, from which he has a combined total of zero points, having lost in foursomes and singles at Hazeltine and suffered similar losses at Whistling Straits. Zero from four? His play in finishing off Spieth was a far cry from such match play woes and would indicate he has hardened, as evidenced from his US Open win last year.

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Fitzpatrick’s win in Hilton Head moved him to a career best eighth in the updated world rankings and he will seek to keep the momentum going by teeing up in this week’s tour stop, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he will have some sibling company. His brother, Alex, has been extended an invitation to play in the event.

Winning at a venue where the Fitzpatrick family used to attend on holidays, when the young golfer’s wish list included hoping to see Tiger Woods play in the tournament, brought a special winning feeling and also moved him dramatically up the FedEx Cup rankings to 22nd and strengthened his ambition to make it to the Tour Championship later in the year.

Of the family link to the links, Fitzpatrick recalled: “I always remember coming here and saying to my dad, ‘Is Tiger going to be in it here?’, and my dad is like, ‘no, Tiger is not playing this week’. I seem to remember that happening a lot. It was only ever when I came here, I was always looking for Tiger ... just winning this tournament because of the history that me and my family have here is what means the world to me. That’s why this is so special.”

Fitzpatrick’s final-round 68 to Spieth’s 66 with the duo finishing on 17-under-par 267 forced the sudden death playoff, where the Englishman – having to contend with chants of U-S-A as the crowd favoured Spieth, Ryder Cup style – closed the deal with that brilliant approach shot for a tap-in birdie.

Apart from upward moves on the world rankings and the Ryder Cup qualifying, the success enabled Fitzpatrick to make a big leap up the FedEx Cup standings.

“I felt like I got off to a slow start (to the season), didn’t play much in the (autumn), and this gives me a huge boost. This really cements my place up there in the top 30 for Tour Championship, and that’s the goal is to always make it there, of course, as well as getting as high up in the world rankings as possible.

“For me the Majors are the goals, and winning tournaments like this is obviously also the goal. For me after last year it’s kind of a thing for me just to play as well as I can each week and just keep working hard on my game to try and improve,” said Fitzpatrick.