US Open: Matthew Fitzpatrick hails maiden major win as ‘out of this world’ and has a taste for more | Golf News

Matthew Fitzpatrick finished on six under to claim a first victory as a professional on American soil, holding off the challenge of Will Zalatoris and world No 1 Scottie Scheffler in a thrilling final round at Brookline

Matthew Fitzpatrick described the feeling of securing his maiden major victory at the US Open as « out of this world » as he edged out Will Zalatoris and world No 1 Scottie Scheffler by one shot in a thrilling final round at Brookline.

Fitzpatrick also won the 2013 US Amateur at The Country Club, and such fond memories as well as a familiarity with the course helped cement a belief that « this could be the time ».

Fitzpatrick shot a two-under 68 on the final day, birdieing two of his last five holes to celebrate a first success on American soil as a professional and become only the fourth Englishman in the last century to win the US Open.

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Matt Fitzpatrick claimed his maiden major title at the US Open with a two-putt par on the 72nd hole as Will Zalatoris missed a birdie putt to force a play-off

« The feeling’s out of this world, » Fitzpatrick said. « It is so cliche, but it’s stuff you dream of as a kid. To achieve it, I can retire a happy man tomorrow. »

Retirement is the furthest thing from the 27-year-old’s mind, however. Sky Sports’ Paul McGinley believes he is « on the verge of something big » and that he has the game capable of winning « a number of major championships ».

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Matt Fitzpatrick produced an incredible shot out of the bunker on the 72nd hole of the US Open at Brookline on his way to winning the tournament!

That’s certainly the target for Fitzpatrick. « Six is the number, » he said, which would see him match Nick Faldo’s haul of major wins.

« That’s the number that we all agreed on. I’ve got a bit of a way to go, but it’s a good start. »

He added: « You want to go win more now, there’s no doubt about that.

« It’s easy to still go off track. I’ve just got to keep doing what I’m doing, and hopefully more will come. I’m delighted with one so far. »

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Highlights of the final round from the US Open at Brookline as Matt Fitzpatrick claimed a one stroke victory

Fitzpatrick reserved praise for Billy Foster after his win, saying he helped give him the belief he could go on and win the tournament after another near-miss at the PGA Championship last month.

« Billy had been saying for a while, the time will come, » Fitzpatrick said. « ‘You’re playing so well. Just keep doing what you’re doing. It will come. It will happen.’

« I put myself in position after two rounds and then played well yesterday. I just really believed this could be the time.

« For whatever reason, because of my success here before, it just felt like this was the time. »

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Matt Fitzpatrick holed a huge 48 foot putt on the 13th hole during the final round of the US Open at Brookline

For Foster, it was also the much-loved caddie’s first major success after coming close with numerous other pros over the years, including Lee Westwood and Seve Ballesteros.

Speaking to Sky Sports after Fitzpatrick’s win, Foster said: « Unbelievably emotional. Forty years caddying; I knew somebody would get that giant monkey off my back. It was a gorilla, never mind a monkey!

« He played absolutely brilliantly. He did my head in by missing a few short putts, but he didn’t need to win by four, did he? One was good enough.

« It means a lot. Obviously, Westy [Westwood], Darren Clarke, Seve, they had their chances over the years, Thomas Bjorn I was caddying for that day when he left it in the bunker at Sandwich [2003 Open] and that really hurt – I thought about it every day for six months, it broke my heart.

« But that has put a lot of bad memories to bed. It means everything to me. »