On a Sunday where the course was softened by rain, the Country Club at Brookline was still a devilish beast that few of golf’s best could tame. But that’s what makes it a U.S. Open—rough that eats golf balls, greens that haunt the dreams of the golfers, and a setup designed to determine the best of the best.
This year’s battle saw a handful of golfers—all only a few under par—desperately try to hold on, seesawing back and forth to the top of the leaderboard. Three players were key to the day’s storylines—American upstart Will Zalatoris, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, and Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick.
The Winner Matt Fitzpatrick
The English golfer started turning heads when he dramatically increased his driving distance through The Stack, a system developed by Sasho MacKenzie, a professor at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, and Ping Golf’s Marty Jertsen. Fitzpatrick blew drives by Dustin Johnson early in the tournament, and used his newfound length effectively throughout the tournament on a course where he won the 2013 U.S. Amateur. He and Zalatoris were atop the leaderboard throughout Sunday, and grabbed the lead with birdies on 13 and 15. He found a fairway bunker on 18, and the TV announcers proclaimed he’d made a massive error. But his approach found the 18th green, and when Zalatoris’ birdie putt slipped by, Fitzpatrick took home his first major. Two under on the day and 6-under for the tournament, Fitzpatrick’s win cements him as one of the game’s best.
“It is what you grow up dreaming of and what you worked on for such a long time,” Fitzpatrick said. “A major for my first win there’s nothing better.”
What’s in the bag
Driver: Titleist TSi3
3-wood: Ping G425 Max
5-wood: Ping G410
Irons: Ping i210 (4), Ping S55 (5 to wedge)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (52-12F, 56-08M, 60-08M), WedgeWorks Proto (60-T)
Putter: Bettinardi DASS Prototype
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Will Zalatoris
American Zalatoris had a chance to make his second-straight playoff in a major, but his final putt slid by on 18, he came up one shot short, with a runner-up finish for his second consecutive major championship. He finished 5-under, in a tie with World No. 1 Scheffler.
Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler, the best player in golf at the moment, started off hot, with four birdies in his first six holes on Sunday. However, he dropped shots on the 10th and 11th holes. While a birdie on the 17th hole made it close, ultimately he’d end up a shot short, in a tie for second.
Rory McIlroy
The RBC Canadian Open winner made a charge with birdies on the 14th and 15th holes, but would end four shots behind Fitzpatrick at 2-under, tied with Collin Morikawa.
The Canadians
Adam Hadwin
Finished T7, after making birdie on two of his last three shots. The Canadian, from Abottsford, BC, wasn’t even in the tournament, having finished qualifying as an alternate. He led after the first round and continued his steady play throughout the weekend.
“I’ll go out tomorrow and just keep the head down, try not to look at any sort of leaderboards,” Hadwin said prior to Sunday’s final round. “I’ve done a really good job of just, again, plodding my way around the golf course. There’s been times where definitely the round could have started to slip away, but I just stayed patient.”
He remained patient, finishing the day at 1-over and 1-under for the tournament. His previous best finish at a U.S. Open was a tie for 39th.
“It was very, very scrappy,” Hadwin said of his final round. “Pretty ugly early. Finally started to settle down … and hit some good shots. I just stayed patient and do the best I could.”
Mackenzie Hughes
The other Canadian to make the cut had a fine Sunday, shooting even par and finishing in a tie for 24th.