Matt Fitzpatrick captured his first ever Major Championship of his career, winning the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. He shot a 2-under 68 on Sunday to hang on and defeat a number of close challengers, finishing at 6-under for the tournament.
Incidentally, The Country Club happened to be where Fitzpatrick also won The U.S. Amateur nine years ago. In doing so, he joined some truly exclusive company.
Fitzpatrick and Nicklaus are the only two golfers in history to have won the U.S. Amateur and their first U.S. Open on the same course. Nicklaus did it at Pebble Beach in 1961 and 1972.
Both Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris finished one shot back at 5-under par. Scheffler, the world's number one ranked player, was looking to capture both The Masters and The U.S. Open in the same year.
Meanwhile, Zalatoris was once again left wondering what could have been. Fitzpatrick hit his tee shot on 18 into the bunker. He was able to play it to the fairway and two-putt for par from there. That left Zalatoris with a 14-foot putt for birdie to force a playoff. He just missed off the edge, clinching The US Open crown for Fitzpatrick. Zalatoris has now finished runner up in each of the last two majors, finishing 2nd to Justin Thomas at the PGA Championship last month.
Obviously accomplishing something that only Nicklaus had done previously does not mean you will grow to be nearly the same player. But Fitzpatrick has quietly been a very good player on tour for a few years now. He finished tied for fifth at The Masters this year and tied for 14th at the PGA Championship. The 27-year-old Englishman was finally able to break through on Sunday, in impressive fashion.