What is behind Matt Fitzpatrick's extraordinary resurgence in the game

What on earth has happened to Matt Fitzpatrick? 

On the eve of last year’s US PGA Championship his world ranking stood at 85 - and looked like it was only heading in one direction. Today he is rated as the third-best golfer on the planet, behind only Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy. It is pretty exalted company.

The Sheffield golfer has always been a ferocious grafter. His work ethic has never been in question. It may have surprised many when he won the US Open in 2022 but not your correspondent. To win any US Open you need to putt well and he has always been one of the best in the business. He is also a wonderful iron player.

He suffered some issues with his chipping. Rather than letting it get him down, he simply started chipping with his left hand below his right. His argument was that it took his right hand out of the action. And, lo and behold, it worked.

Fitzpatrick had a wonderful amateur career, winning the 2012 Boys Amateur Championship, making the cut at The Open in 2013 and finishing as the low amateur. Later in 2013 he won the US Amateur Championship, which took him to the top of the amateur world rankings and gained him entry to the 2014 Masters, US Open and Open. And in September 2013 he played in the Walker Cup.

He has had to climb off the floor several times. He qualified for the 2016 Ryder Cup team and came home without so much as half a point. He also suffered at the 2021 Ryder Cup, losing all three of his matches - but three weeks later he won the Andalusia Masters.

His first victory on the DP World Tour came at the British Masters in 2015 when he was just 20 years old and the wins followed on a regular basis - the Nordea Masters and DP World Tour Championship in 2016, European Masters in 2017 and 2018, another DP World Tour Championship success in 2020, the Andalucia Masters in 2021, US Open in 2022, the RBC Heritage on the other side of the Pond in 2023 along with the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

And then the drought began. But through it all Fitzpatrick continued to believe in what he was doing. Many others before him have started on the slippery slope and been unable to find a way back.

Had anybody expressed the view this time last year that Fitzpatrick would make the 2025 European Ryder Cup team and would now be riding so high in the world rankings they would have been laughed out of court. But Fitzpatrick knew that he wanted to be a part of Luke Donald’s team in New York. He knew that his game was not so far away, that he just needed a break and a decent result or two to turn it all around.

Few believed him. It turned out he knew what he was doing all along.

There were encouraging signs. He was tied eighth at the US PGA Championship, made the cut at The Memorial and the US Open and tied eighth at the Rocket Mortgage.

He then headed back to Europe - and that’s when the world began to sit up and take notice of Fitzpatrick once more. 

First of all he was tied fourth in a world-class field at the Scottish Open and then he repeated the feat the following week at The Open. He was tied sixth at the British Masters, fifth at the European Masters and tied fifth at the BMW PGA Championship. He got the nod for the Ryder Cup and was one of Europe’s stars. Then came another victory at the DP World Tour Championship.

He should have won the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass but a bogey at the final hole cost him his chance. It simply made him more determined. He won the Valspar Championship and followed it up by winning the RBC Heritage for a second time. 

He had looked like he was cruising to victory at Harbour Town but Scottie Scheffler reeled him in and when he dropped a shot at the 72nd hole to finish tied with Scheffler it looks like there was only going to be one winner. As it turned out, that man was Fitzpatrick, who hit a magnificent approach at the first playoff hole and then drained the putt for a winning birdie. 

And then he had the time of his life with brother Alex at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

All the more impressive was the way that Fitzpatrick dealt with mindless fans chanting: "USA! USA! USA!" at Harbour Town and jeering when he was trying to play. Didn’t we have enough of that nonsense at last year’s Ryder Cup?

"I'm paid so much money to be out there in front of those crowds," Fitzpatrick said. "Having them chanting at you every week, it's a great feeling. However, there's no better feeling than coming out on top against that."

Fitzpatrick had been on the receiving end of something similar when Cameron Young hunted him down during the Players Championship in March.

He withstood even louder vitriol to grab a crucial half against a spirited DeChambeau fightback in the Bethpage Bearpit at last year's Ryder Cup.

And after the birdie that beat Scheffler he used a footballing analogy. "It's like winning away against your biggest rival," said the Sheffield United fan. "Nothing to do with Scottie or the players; it's the fans that have spurred me on there.

"To win it twice means the world. To go toe-to-toe with Scottie and get over the line is special."

What is even more special is that his third PGA Tour victory of the year alongside younger brother Alex has also changed Alex’s life forever. Fresh from his maiden DP World Tour success, not only has he pocketed in excess of $1m for his week’s work but he has also now earned PGA Tour membership until 2028, entry to the Signature Events and a place in the field at the US PGA Championship. It truly is the stuff of dreams!