Fitzpatrick claims U.S. Open with clutch bunker shot at final hole
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[June 20, 2022]
By Frank Pingue
BROOKLINE, Mass. (Reuters) - After struggling with shots out of
fairway bunkers in earlier rounds of the U.S. Open, Matthew
Fitzpatrick pulled off the biggest shot of all when it mattered most
on Sunday to secure the biggest win of his career.
The 27-year-old Englishman stepped up to the final hole at The
Country Club outside Boston with a one-shot lead. With the title in
his grasp, he drove straight into a left fairway bunker.
Under career-defining pressure, Fitzpatrick produced an approach
shot from 161 yards out that was nothing short of magnificent, the
ball settling 18 feet from the cup to all but wrap up the victory.
"It's one of the best shots I ever hit, there's no doubt about it,"
Fitzpatrick told reporters.
Fitzpatrick two-putted for par and then watched as playing partner
Will Zalatoris, who needed a birdie to force a playoff, rolled his
14-footer just left of the hole.
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When Fitzpatrick's ball landed in the 18th hole bunker, the tension
of what had already been a tightly contested back-nine battle
ratcheted up several notches. A bogey would have crushed his dreams,
given Zalatoris had bombed his drive safely up the fairway.
Fitzpatrick, who said the lie in the bunker forced him not to aim
directly at the pin, had already produced a ball-striking
masterclass down the stretch. Still, the shot to the green at 18
will certainly find a spot in the annals of golf history.
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![](../images/062022PIX/sports13.jpg)
Matthew Fitzpatrick reacts as he wins the U.S. Open golf tournament
at The Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
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"When I look back, it just all happened so fast,"
said Fitzpatrick. "It was like just kind of natural ability took
over and just played the shot that was at hand, as if I was a junior
trying to hit it close.
"And I didn't mean to do that, but I just committed to the shot we
kind of planned ... Yeah, it was amazing."
Zalatoris, sensing his opportunity to finally clinch a major title
after two previous runner-up finishes, could not help but take a
peek at Fitzpatrick's ball in the bunker as he walked up the fairway
and after could only tip his hat at the shot.
"Matt's shot on 18 is going to be shown probably for the rest of
U.S. Open history because that - I walked by it, and I thought that
going for it was going to be ballsy, but the fact that he pulled it
off and even had a birdie look was just incredible," said Zalatoris.
"So hat's off to him. He played great all week obviously and gave a
solid round today."
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Brookline, Massachusetts; Editing by
Kenneth Maxwell)
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