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RBC Heritage: Matthew Fitzpatrick beats Jordan Spieth in long playoff for second career win

ryan young
Staff writer
·3 min read
26

Jordan Spieth had his chances Sunday afternoon.

But after watching him miss two winning putts in their playoff, Matthew Fitzpatrick made his move.

Fitzpatrick overtook Spieth and won the RBC Heritage on Sunday on the third playoff hole, thanks to an incredible approach shot on the 18th at Harbour Town Golf Links. Fitzpatrick stuck his approach to just a foot from the hole, which left him with a tap-in birdie to pick up his second career win on the PGA Tour.

"I think I can retire now," Fitzpatrick said jokingly. "Yeah, this one is the one that I've always wanted to win. Any golf tournament, you know, other than the majors, of course, there isn't a higher one on my list than to win this one, and that's the truth."

Spieth, who narrowly missed chances to win on the first and second playoff holes, sent his approach off the back side of the green. That left the win to Fitzpatrick, who hadn’t won on Tour since his U.S. Open win last summer.

Spieth should've beaten Fitzpatrick on the first playoff hole. Both of their drives landed in the fairway, but Spieth landed his approach about 12.5 feet from the cup, while Fitzpatrick’s sailed more than 33 feet past.

But Spieth’s birdie putt rimmed out, which left him stunned on the green, bent over in disbelief. Fitzpatrick made his par, which sent the two to the 17th for their second playoff hole.

“I don't know how the one on the first playoff hole didn't go in,” Spieth said. “I think if I hit the same putt 10 times, it goes in eight times. It should go left at the very end there on the grain. It just wasn't meant to be.”

Spieth did it again. Both players hit great shots off the tee on the par-3 to about 10 feet, though Fitzpatrick sent his birdie putt left of the cup. Spieth, with another chance to get the win, sent his putt just inches off the right lip of the cup.

That sent the two back to the 18th, where Fitzpatrick got the win.

Fitzpatrick started the day with a 1-shot lead, thanks to a career-low 63 in the third round, in which he carded six birdies and an eagle. He's the first Englishman to win the plaid jacket since Nick Faldo did so in 1984. Fitzpatrick will head home with a $3.6 million prize, which is more than double from last year, and he jumped to No. 8 in the Official World Golf Rankings, a career high.

Spieth was trying to defend a title for the first time in his career following his victory at Harbour Town last season, where he beat Patrick Cantlay in a playoff. He is now 5-4 in playoffs in his career and has five top-10 finishes this season, including last week’s T4 at the Masters, which came after a huge final-round 66. He has 18 runner-up finishes on Tour since he made his first start as a professional in 2013, which is four more than any other player in that span.

Cantlay finished alone in third at 16-under, and Xander Schauffele was one shot behind him in fourth. Top-ranked Jon Rahm, fresh off his win at the Masters last week, finished T15 after posting a 3-under 68 on Sunday. He is the first winner at Augusta National to play the following week on Tour since 2015.