Matt Fitzpatrick secured a second PGA Tour win of the season after overcoming a final-round wobble to say play-off victory over world No 1 Scottie Scheffler on the RBC Heritage.
Fitzpatrick took a three-shot lead into the ultimate day at Harbour City Golf Hyperlinks and posted two birdies in his first three holes to increase his benefit, with the Englishman seemingly in charge of the event when he was nonetheless three forward with 4 holes to play.
Scheffler closed with back-to-back birdies after which discovered himself in a play-off when Fitzpatrick bogeyed the par-four final and slipped again to 18 underneath, ending a run of 14 straight pars for the in a single day chief.
Fitzpatrick performed alongside Scheffler within the remaining group on Sunday
The gamers returned to the par-four 18th for the primary additional gap, the fourth play-off in 5 years on the Signature Occasion, the place Fitzpatrick fired his strategy to 12 toes and rolled within the birdie to say his second RBC Heritage win in 4 years.
“I felt like I got off to a great start,” Fitzpatrick stated. “I knew Scottie [Scheffler] was going to make a few birdies on the final stretch. I kind of had to hang in there a little bit.”
Victory lifts Fitzpatrick to a career-high of world No 3 and makes him simply the fourth Englishman in historical past to register a number of PGA Tour titles in the identical season, following on from Sir Nick Faldo, Justin Rose (twice) and Luke Donald.
How Fitzpatrick pipped Scheffler in PGA Tour play-off
Fitzpatrick prolonged his in a single day benefit with a 10-foot birdie on the first however did not make the most of the par-five subsequent, the place Scheffler tidied up from shut vary to get again inside three.
A 15-foot birdie from Fitzpatrick on the third restored a four-shot buffer, with each gamers burning alternatives to tug additional clear on the par-four fourth earlier than Scheffler burned one other six-foot probability on the subsequent.
The pair continued to commerce pars till Scheffler signed off a bogey-free entrance 9 with a six-foot birdie on the ninth, taking him to 16 underneath, with each him and Fitzpatrick lacking the inexperienced in regulation on the tenth earlier than securing close-range pars.
Fitzpatrick posted a one-under 70 in the course of the remaining day
Nothing may separate the 2 as they pushed ahead in pars, with Fitzpatrick holing from 15 toes to save lots of par on the eleventh and Scheffler producing a gutsy save from 10 toes on the 14th to keep away from falling additional behind.
Si Woo Kim – taking part in within the group forward – quickly lower the result in two when he rolled in from 12 toes on the par-five fifteenth, the place Scheffler produced a superb up and down from the sand to make a birdie and be part of the Korean in tied-second.
Si Woo Kim, taking part in within the penultimate group, posted a three-under 68 to complete third
Scheffler rattled in from 10 toes on the sixteenth to reclaim solo second and transfer inside a shot of Fitzpatrick, who edged nearer to the end line in pars earlier than a clunky chip from the again of the ultimate inexperienced led to a two-putt bogey.
Fitzpatrick composed himself to search out the inexperienced in regulation on the primary play-off gap, the place Scheffler completed wanting the inexperienced and left himself a tester for par, because the Yorkshireman coaxed in for birdie to say a second PGA Tour win in three begins.
Scheffler’s runner-up end is his second in as many weeks, seven days on from ending a shot behind Rory McIlroy at The Masters final Sunday, whereas Kim was two strokes again in third spot after a final-round 68.
“This was one of those weeks where anytime Fitzy [Fitzpatrick] needed something to happen, he made something happen,” Scheffler stated. “He definitely earned the win, and he just played great golf.”
Ludvig Åberg completed in fourth spot on 13 underneath alongside Collin Morikawa and Harris English, whereas Bud Cauley claimed seventh forward of Rickie Fowler, Gary Woodland – who completed his week with a hole-out eagle, Patrick Cantlay and Kurt Kitayama.
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Gary Woodland signed off his RBC Heritage with a shocking hole-out eagle from the ultimate fairway
Keegan Bradley and Xander Schauffele each ended the week on 10 underneath, whereas Viktor Hovland – briefly in tied-second early on the ultimate day – posted a five-over 76 to complete in tied-Forty second alongside Ryder Cup teammates Shane Lowry, Sepp Straka and Robert MacIntyre.
What’s subsequent?
The PGA Tour heads to Louisiana for the Zurich Basic of New Orleans, a two-man crew occasion at TPC Louisiana the place Fitzpatrick will companion his brother Alex Fitzpatrick as Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin return as defending champions.
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