HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Matt Fitzpatrick delivered another clutch playoff shot at Harbour Town on Sunday, silencing the pro-American crowd and taking down Scottie Scheffler to win his second RBC Heritage title. The Englishman struck a perfect 4-iron into a stiff breeze to 13 feet and drained the birdie putt to defeat the world’s top-ranked player.
Scheffler had forced the playoff with a late rally, erasing a three-shot deficit with four holes to play. He posted a 4-under 67 while Fitzpatrick opened the door with his only bogey of the day on 18, missing a 20-foot par putt after a poor chip from right of the green to finish with a 70.
The large gallery that spilled onto the fairway short of the 18th green in regulation had been chanting “U-S-A!” throughout the closing holes. When they returned for the playoff, Fitzpatrick silenced them with that magnificent 4-iron that cleared the front bunker and settled just 13 feet from the cup.
Scheffler then hit his worst shot of the day, fanning a 6-iron that came up woefully short — 37 yards from the hole. He hit a superb pitch to 8 feet, but it didn’t matter once Fitzpatrick rolled in the winning putt.
“A lot of grit,” Fitzpatrick said of hanging on for the win.
His celebration was understated — just a light touch to his right ear in response to the crowd. He’d been in this position before, having faced a similar atmosphere when Cameron Young beat him at The Players Championship earlier this season.
The playoff almost mirrored Fitzpatrick’s previous Harbour Town triumph when he defeated Jordan Spieth in a playoff three years ago. In that instance, he hit a 9-iron with the wind at his back that rolled to within inches for the winning birdie.
Harbour Town holds a special place in Fitzpatrick’s heart. His family used to vacation in Hilton Head when he was a child, enjoying the golf, tennis and beaches. He remembers watching the tournament and dreaming of winning it someday.
“It means the world,” he said. “This is a tournament I wanted to win growing up more than any of the majors before I understood more about the game. To go toe-to-toe with Scottie and get it over the line is special.”
What looked like a comfortable win turned into high drama at the end. Fitzpatrick started with a three-shot cushion and birdied two of the opening three holes, keeping everyone at least three shots back until Si Woo Kim birdied the par-5 15th to get within two. That’s when Scheffler made his move, making an up-and-down birdie at 15 and hitting a bold drive and approach to 10 feet for birdie at 16.
Suddenly the lead was just one shot heading to 18, where both players missed the green right. Scheffler capped off a perfect day of scrambling — 8 for 8 — with a chip that settled a foot from the hole. Fitzpatrick, facing his first chip into the grain all day, came up well short and couldn’t save par.
They finished at 18-under 268.
For Scheffler, it’s his second straight runner-up finish. He came from 12 shots behind going into the weekend at the Masters to finish one back of Rory McIlroy.
Fitzpatrick has now won twice in the past month. After finishing second at The Players, he claimed the Valspar Championship on the demanding Innisbrook course. This victory, his fourth on the PGA Tour and 13th worldwide, moves him to a career-high No. 3 in the world ranking.
Kim closed with a 68 to finish alone in third, his fourth top 10 of the year.
