Matt Fitzpatrick: New world number eight savours RBC Heritage victory and jokes he can 'retire now'
Matt Fitzpatrick overcame last year's champion Jordan Spieth in tense play-off at Hilton Head; Englishman describes how "special" tournament is to him and his family; watch Fitzpatrick in action at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, live on Sky Sports from 8pm, Thursday
Monday 17 April 2023 17:15, UK
Matt Fitzpatrick joked he "can retire now" after winning the RBC Heritage following a tense play-off victory over last year's champion Jordan Spieth.
Fitzpatrick's second victory on the PGA Tour, after winning the 2022 US Open, lifted him eight places in the rankings to world No 8.
He is only the second Englishman to win the RBC Heritage, after Sir Nick Faldo in 1984, with the event special for Fitzpatrick ever since he attended with his family as a child.
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"I think I can retire now," he joked. "This one is the one that I've always wanted to win. Any golf tournament, other than the majors, there isn't a higher one on my list than to win this one, and that's the truth.
"My family can tell you that, and my friends can tell you the same thing. This place is just a special place for me, and it means the world to have won it."
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U-S-A chants could be heard across the course as Fitzpatrick battled it out with the American at Hilton Head.
The 28-year-old: "When you're the underdog or the person that everyone is not rooting for, it's obviously a little bit sweeter when you do win, there's no doubt about that. But I felt like I had a lot of support out there myself."
Fitzpatrick: I've learnt to give myself time
Fitzpatrick has had a tricky start to the season, missing the cut in five out of 11 tournaments on the PGA Tour. However, last week's 10th-place finish at The Masters was a sign of things to come.
"I just feel like I played really well this week, and I felt solid coming in off the weekend of last week, and just took it through into the rest of the week." Fitzpatrick added.
"I'm sure people are going to be like, 'Oh, this golf course suits him perfectly.' But if you look at my results here, that's not necessarily the case. I've missed the cut a few times. I've finished middle of the pack a couple times."
Fitzpatrick is known for his obsessive approach to data, analysing every shot, but he has developed the mental aspect of his game, too.
Despite Spieth going two shots ahead in the final round, Fitzpatrick was able to claw back the deficit with birdies at 15 and 16.
"The big thing that I feel like I've learnt when I play well is just having patience, just letting it happen, and just giving myself time," he said.
"At the end of the day, the final round is over 18 holes. If you caught up in five holes, things can change in the next three holes."
Spieth missed his opportunity to birdie at the second hole of the play-off for victory. Fitzpatrick responded at the third, with a superb approach to the green giving him a tap-in birdie for the win.
"I felt like the shot that I hit was right down it from the moment it left the club face. We knew it was the perfect number for the club," said Fitzpatrick.
"Then I knew it was good because my mum and my girlfriend were jumping up and down with their arms in the air. I knew it must have been decent.
"This gives me a huge boost. This really cements my place up there in the top 30 for the Tour Championship. The goal is to always make it there, of course, as well as getting as high up in the world rankings as possible."
What's next?
Two Fitzpatricks will be in action this week as Matt teams up with brother Alex at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Watch all four rounds of the team event exclusively live on Sky Sports Golf, with coverage starting from 8pm on Thursday.
Also coming up on Sky Sports is the first women's major of the season - The Chevron Championship.
England's Georgia Hall will hope to contend after finishing tied-sixth at last week's LOTTE Championship and second in her two LPGA Tour events prior to that.
Watch The Chevron Championship live on Sky Sports Golf from 4pm on Thursday.
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