Matt Fitzpatrick is an English golfer from Sheffield, ranked approximately world number 9, and the 2022 U.S. Open champion. His victory at The Country Club in Brookline, the same course where he won the U.S. Amateur in 2013, made him one of only a handful of players to win both the amateur and professional championships at the same venue, a feat that Jack Nicklaus himself had not achieved.
Fitzpatrick’s game is a rebuttal to the idea that modern professional golf requires brute length. He is not the longest hitter on tour. He compensates with iron play that finds the correct section of the green with surgical consistency, course management that rarely produces wasted shots, and wedge play from 100 to 150 yards that is a genuine weapon. From that distance range, Fitzpatrick creates birdie opportunities that longer hitters generate through power alone. His approach is cerebral: he plays the percentages, avoids trouble, and trusts that precision will beat aggression over four rounds. It often does.
The 2022 U.S. Open at Brookline produced the defining shot of Fitzpatrick’s career. On the 72nd hole, with the championship hanging in the balance, he hit a fairway bunker approach to the green that found the putting surface and secured the title. The shot required technique, nerve, and the kind of clear thinking that major championship pressure is specifically designed to destroy. Since then, Fitzpatrick has posted solid results at the Masters and The Open Championship, with his game particularly well-suited to the strategic demands of Augusta National, where his accuracy and wedge play can offset the distance advantage held by longer players.
In 2026, Shinnecock Hills may be Fitzpatrick’s best venue. The U.S. Open setup rewards exactly what he does best: patience, precision, and the ability to grind through conditions that punish mistakes. Aronimink’s Ross greens also reward approach accuracy. At Royal Birkdale, his English links pedigree gives him familiarity with coastal conditions. He will compete at all four: The Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open, and The Open Championship. English fans can follow tee times in United Kingdom time.