It was everything you wanted in a U.S. Open, unless you were in fact the actual players making the bogeys on the finishing stretch. The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., is hard enough on a normal afternoon. Now throw in U.S. Open conditions, Sunday nerves and major-tournament pressure.
Leads didn’t last. The best in the world looked mortal. Three-putts ruined rounds and drives in the fairway — bypassing that gnarly, thick rough — were ever so precious.
It was a proper U.S. Open, the saying goes, and it was Matt Fitzpatrick who outlasted them all, riding elite ball-striking and a clutch putter to his first major title of his career. And, ironically enough (or not?), it happened on the same course he won a U.S. Amateur title on back in 2013.
The 27-year-old Englishman closed with a two-under 68 to finish six under overall, besting Will Zalatoris (69) and Scottie Scheffler (67) by one.